's make-up. He found it difficult
to dislike any one strongly. But he could come nearer to disliking Raish
Pulcifer than any one else, and now to dislike was added resentment.
Why in the world should this Pulcifer person interfere with his peace of
mind?

In the morning, and with the bright September sunshine streaming into
the room, his disquietude of the previous night seemed rather foolish.
No doubt Miss Martha had been mistaken; perhaps Horatio had not had any
idea of buying her shares. Martha herself seemed a little doubtful.

"I've been thinkin' it over," she said, "and I wonder if I just imagined
that's what he was after. It seems almost as if I must have. I can't
think of any sensible reason why a man who was so dreadfully anxious to
sell, and only a little while ago, should be wantin' to buy now. Perhaps
he didn't mean anything of the kind."

Galusha comforted himself with the thought that this was, in all
probability, the truth: Miss Martha had misinterpreted the Pulcifer
purpose; Raish had not meant anything of the kind.

But the comfort was short-lived. A few days later Doctor Powers called
at the Phipps' home. After he had gone Martha came to the sitting room,
where her lodger was reading the paper, and, closing the door behind
her, said:

"Mr. Bangs, I guess I was right, after all. Raish Pulcifer WAS hintin'
at buyin' my Wellmouth Development stock."

Galusha dropped the paper in his lap. "Oh, dear! I--I mean, dear me!" he
observed.

"Yes, I guess there isn't much doubt of it. Doctor Powers came here to
tell me that he had sold his shares to him and that Eben Snow and Jim
Henry Willis have sold theirs in the same place. He says he doesn't
know for certain, but he thinks Raish has bought out all the little
stockholders. He's been quietly buyin' the Development stock for the
last week."

Mr. Bangs took off his spectacles and put them on again.

"Good gracious!" he stammered.

"That's what Doctor Powers says. He stopped in, just as an old friend,
to drop the hint to me, so that I could be ready when Raish came to buy
mine. I asked him what the Pulcifer man was payin' for the stock. He
said as little as he had to, as near as he could find out. Of course, no
one was supposed to tell a word about it--Raish had asked 'em not to do
that--but SOMEBODY told, and then it all began to come out. As a matter
of fact, you might as well ask water to run up hill as to ask Jim Willis
to keep quiet about his own