d
myself."

Corkey examines the list of failures. "I'm glad you're heeled," he
says.

A boy is fastening a new bulletin on the window.

"_There_ you be, now!" says Corkey.

"The Coal and Oil Trust Company's Institution Goes Down," is on the
bulletin.

"I'll lend you money enough to git home," says Corkey.

"Panic! Panic! Panic!!" bawls a large boy, who beats his small rivals
ruthlessly aside and makes his way to Lockwin.

The man is still trembling. He is trying to put away his worthless
bank-book and cannot gain the entrance of the pocket.

"'Ere's your panic! Buy of me, mister. Say, mister, won't you buy of
me? Ah! git out, you great big coward!"

It is the sympathetic Corkey, smartly cuffing the invader.

"Strike somebody of your size, you great big coward! Ah! git out, you
great big coward!"

CHAPTER IV

"A SOUND OF REVELRY BY NIGHT"

"Poverty," says Ben Franklin, "often deprives a man of all spirit and
virtue. It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright."

David Lockwin has but one familiar acquaintance in the world and that
is Corkey. Corkey will now start in search of the body of David
Lockwin!

David Lockwin has but a few hundred dollars in cash. His fortune is in
a ruined bank. He hopes to get something out of it. His experience
tells him he may expect several thousand dollars.

Is it wise to return to New York? Yes. A situation awaits him there.
He can protect his rights as a depositor. He can enjoy the pleasant
apartments at Gramercy Park.

But the expense! Ah! yes, he must take cheaper quarters. It is the
first act of despotism which poverty has ever ventured to impose on
David Lockwin.

It makes New York seem inhospitable. It makes Chicago seem like home.
Still, as David Lockwin seeks his hotel, noting always the complete
solitude in which he dwells among the vast crowds that once knew him
familiarly or by sight, it chills him to the marrow.

He enters the hotel dining-room. The head waiter seats his guest at a
table where three men are eating. Every one of them is a business
acquaintance of Lockwin.

The excitement of the moment drives away the brain terrors which were
entering the man's head. The men regard the newcomer with that look
which is given to an uninvited banqueter whose appearance is not
imposing. The best-natured of the group, however, breaks the silence.
He speaks to the diner on his left.

"Where did you get the stone for that sarco