ent was to
revoke the iniquitous concession of the San Pedro gold mine, made to "a
group of greedy North American capitalists by the former corrupt and evil
administration."

Riatt's bearing during this unhappy experience was universally praised.
As he went in and out of his broker's office, not a trace of anxiety
visible upon his countenance, men would nudge each other and whisper,
"Did you ever see such nerve? He stands to lose a million."

The only moment of regret that he suffered was when one day, when things
first began to look badly, he met Linburne and another man in Wall
Street, and there was something subtly insulting and triumphant in the
former's manner of condoling with him about the situation.

Rumors of it reached Christine. She liked the picture of Riatt's courage
and calm, and hated the danger of his losing money.

"You're not risking too much, are you, Max?" she asked.

"Wouldn't you enjoy love in a cottage, Christine?" he answered.

She tried to make it clear to him how little such a prospect would tempt
her, and gathered from the fact that he hardly listened to her reply that
he felt confident there was no real danger.

With the success of the revolution, Riatt realized that his holiday was
over, that he must tell Christine the truth and then retire to his old
home and begin a new method of life on his decreased income.

It was now early April--a warm advanced spring--when he decided that the
next day should see the end of his little drama. But, as we all know, it
sometimes happens that those who set a mine are the most startled by the
explosion; and Riatt, at an early breakfast (for he and Christine were
going into the country for the day), with a mind occupied with the
phrases in which he should bid her good-by and eyes lazily reading the
newspaper, was suddenly startled beyond words by a short paragraph on the
financial page. This stated in the baldest terms the failure of his
brokers at home.

There was no country expedition for Riatt that day. He rushed
down-town, leaving a short message for Christine, and by night he knew
the worst, knew that the liabilities of the firm far exceeded any
possible assets, knew positively that the comfortable sum he had
intended to preserve for himself had been swept away, knew that he now
really had to begin life over.

That night when he came back to his hotel, he understood for the first
time that he had throughout been cherishing an unrecognized hop