t of it, together with the wretched story of his friend's
final surrender to a temptation he had never outlived, reached Curtis
Jadwin early on the morning of the eleventh.

He and Gretry were at their accustomed places in the latter's office,
and the news seemed to shut out all the sunshine that had been flooding
in through the broad plate-glass windows. After their first incoherent
horror, the two sat staring at each other, speechless.

"My God, my God," groaned Jadwin, as if in the throes of a deadly
sickness. "He was in the Crookes' ring, and we never knew it--I've
killed him, Sam. I might as well have held that pistol myself." He
stamped his foot, striking his fist across his forehead, "Great God--my
best friend--Charlie--Charlie Cressler! Sam, I shall go mad if this--if
this--"

"Steady, steady does it, J.," warned the broker, his hand upon his
shoulder, "we got to keep a grip on ourselves to-day. We've got a lot
to think of. We'll think about Charlie, later. Just now ... well it's
business now. Mathewson & Knight have called on us for margins--twenty
thousand dollars."

He laid the slip down in front of Jadwin, as he sat at his desk.

"Oh, this can wait?" exclaimed Jadwin. "Let it go till this afternoon.
I can't talk business now. Think of Carrie--Mrs. Cressler, I--"

"No," answered Gretry, reflectively and slowly, looking anywhere but in
Jadwin's face. "N--no, I don't think we'd better wait. I think we'd
better meet these margin calls promptly. It's always better to keep our
trades margined up."

Jadwin faced around.

"Why," he cried, "one would think, to hear you talk, as though there
was danger of me busting here at any hour."

Gretry did not answer. There was a moment's silence Then the broker
caught his principal's eye and held it a second.

"Well," he answered, "you saw how freely they sold to us in the Pit
yesterday. We've got to buy, and buy and buy, to keep our price up; and
look here, look at these reports from our correspondents--everything
points to a banner crop. There's been an increase of acreage
everywhere, because of our high prices. See this from Travers"--he
picked up a despatch and read: "'Preliminary returns of spring wheat in
two Dakotas, subject to revision, indicate a total area seeded of
sixteen million acres, which added to area in winter wheat states,
makes total of forty-three million, or nearly four million acres
greater than last year.'"

"Lot of damned sentiment," crie