banter of his friend's joke.

With a gesture of conscious dignity he turned to the table and quietly
said:

"Count one of those heaps of coin. Each stack of twenty-dollar pieces
contains a hundred--exactly two thousand dollars. Between each pile of
a million a scarlet thread is drawn. When you have counted one section,
you will find twenty exactly like it. Verify my statement and then make
a note of those packages of stocks and bonds, all gilt-edged dividend
payers. On that side table there in the corner," he waved in that
direction, "I have thrown a heap of rubbish, the common stock of
various corporations, not yet paying a dividend. Some of it will be
very valuable in time. For example, 100,000 shares of U.S. Steel,
Common. When that stock reaches par, and it will yet do it, that
package alone will be worth ten millions. I haven't counted any of that
stuff at all.

"You will find on this table exactly ninety millions. Within an hour
you can examine each division of coin, stocks and bonds and bear
witness to the truth of my assertions. I'm going to close that door and
leave you here for an hour."

"Alone with all that?"

"Oh, there's only one way out," Bivens laughed, "through my little
reception room and I'll be there. I'll meet some of the gentlemen who
are waiting. When you are satisfied of the accuracy of my account, just
tap on my door and I'll join you immediately. Do the inspection
carefully. It's of grave importance. I shall call on you as a witness
bye and bye before that group of newspaper men."

When Bivens disappeared into the adjoining room, Stuart at once began
the task of verifying the financier's statement of his assets. In half
an hour he had completed the task with sufficient care to be reasonably
sure there could be no mistake--a million dollars more or less was of
no importance. Ten millions in gold would make good every liability of
Bivens's banks.

When Stuart had satisfied himself of the accuracy of the count, he
stood gazing at the queer looking piles of yellow metal and richly
tinted paper, stunned by the attempt to realize the enormous power over
men which it represented. Even in dead bulk as it lay there the power
it represented was something enormous, an annual banking income of at
least four millions, a sum beyond the power of any human being to spend
intelligently. But when the huge pile should thrill with life at the
touch of the deft fingers of the master who could grasp its st