the room, but he rose halfway in his chair and shook his leonine head,
and then let his hands fall limply on his knees as he cried: "No--no,
John--I can't. I can't."

Barclay put his hand on the back of the old man's chair, and he could
feel the firm hard grip of the boy through his whole frame. Then after
a moment's pause Barclay said: "General, I'm in earnest about that.
You will either mail those dividend certificates according to your
guarantee on the first, or as sure as there is a God in heaven I'll
see that you won't have a dollar in your bank on the night of the
second."

The old man stood gasping. The eyes of the two men met. Barclay's were
bold and green and blazing.

"Boy! Boy! Boy!--" the old man faltered. "Don't ruin me! Don't ruin
me--" he did not finish the sentence, but sank into his chair, and
dropped his face to his breast and repeated, "Don't, don't, don't,"
feebly for a few times, without seeming to realize what he was saying.
From some outpost of his being reinforcements came. For he rose
suddenly, and shaking his haggard fist at the youth, exclaimed in a
high, furious, cracking voice as he panted and shook his great hairy
head: "No--by God, no, by God, no! You damned young cut-throat--you
can break my bank, but you can't bulldoze me. No, by God--no!" He
started to leave the room. Barclay caught the old man and swung him
into a chair. The flint that Barclay's nature needed had been struck.
His face was aglow as with an inspiration.

"Listen, man, listen!" Barclay cried. "I'm not going to break your
bank, I'm trying to save it." He knew that the plan was ripe in his
head, and as he talked it out, something stood beside him and
marvelled at its perfection. As its inherent dishonesty revealed
itself, the old man's face flinched, but Barclay went on unfolding his
scheme. It required General Hendricks to break the law half a dozen
ways, and to hazard all of the bank's assets, and all of its cash. And
it required him to agree not to lend a dollar to any man in the county
except as he complied with the demands of the Golden Belt Wheat
Company and mortgaged his farm to Barclay. The plan that Barclay set
forth literally capitalized the famine that had followed the
grasshopper invasion, and sold the people their own need at Barclay's
price. Then for an hour the two men fought it out, and at the end
Barclay was saying: "I am glad you see it that way, and I believe, as
you do, that they will take it a li