and
fearlessly around. On his knee he held his blue--banded straw hat
neatly balanced on one edge. His full mustache curled upward in a
jaunty, arrogant way.

"I can meet my loans," he replied, easily. "But I would not advise you
or any of the gentlemen present to call them." His voice, for all its
lightness, had an ominous ring.

"Why not?" inquired Hand, grimly and heavily, turning squarely about
and facing him. "It doesn't appear that you have extended any
particular courtesy to Hull or Stackpole." His face was red and
scowling.

"Because," replied Cowperwood, smiling, and ignoring the reference to
his trick, "I know why this meeting was called. I know that these
gentlemen here, who are not saying a word, are mere catspaws and rubber
stamps for you and Mr. Schryhart and Mr. Arneel and Mr. Merrill. I
know how you four gentlemen have been gambling in this stock, and what
your probable losses are, and that it is to save yourselves from
further loss that you have decided to make me the scapegoat. I want to
tell you here"--and he got up, so that in his full stature he loomed
over the room--"you can't do it. You can't make me your catspaw to
pull your chestnuts out of the fire, and no rubber-stamp conference can
make any such attempt successful. If you want to know what to do, I'll
tell you--close the Chicago Stock Exchange to-morrow morning and keep
it closed. Then let Hull & Stackpole fail, or if not you four put up
the money to carry them. If you can't, let your banks do it. If you
open the day by calling a single one of my loans before I am ready to
pay it, I'll gut every bank from here to the river. You'll have panic,
all the panic you want. Good evening, gentlemen."

He drew out his watch, glanced at it, and quickly walked to the door,
putting on his hat as he went. As he bustled jauntily down the wide
interior staircase, preceded by a footman to open the door, a murmur of
dissatisfaction arose in the room he had just left.

"The wrecker!" re-exclaimed Norrie Simms, angrily, astounded at this
demonstration of defiance.

"The scoundrel!" declared Mr. Blackman. "Where does he get the wealth
to talk like that?"

"Gentlemen," said Mr. Arneel, stung to the quick by this amazing
effrontery, and yet made cautious by the blazing wrath of Cowperwood,
"it is useless to debate this question in anger. Mr. Cowperwood
evidently refers to loans which can be controlled in his favor, and of
which I for one