thers were local men of some position commercially and financially in
the town. Sibley did not give any sign that he noticed the three men,
but he watched carefully from under the rim of his hat. His imagination,
however, read a story of consequence in the secretive vigilance of the
three, who evidently thought that, standing far back in the room, they
could not be seen.

Presently the door of the bank opened, and Sibley saw Studd Bradley lean
forward eagerly, then draw back and speak hurriedly to his companions,
using a gesture of satisfaction.

"Something damn funny there!" Sibley said to himself, and stepped
forward to Crozier with a friendly exclamation. Crozier turned rather
impatiently, for his face was aflame with some exciting reflection. At
this moment his eyes were the deepest blue that could be imagined--an
almost impossible colour, like that of the Mediterranean when it
reflects the perfect sapphire of the sky. There was something almost
wonderful in their expression. A woman once said as she looked at a
picture of Herschel, whose eyes had the unworldly gaze of the great
dreamer looking beyond this sphere, "The stars startled him." Such a
look was in Crozier's eyes now, as though he was seeing the bright end
of a long road, the desire of his soul.

That, indeed, was what he saw. After two years of secret negotiation
he had (inspired by information dropped by Jesse Bulrush, his
fellow-boarder) made definite arrangements for a big land-deal in
connection with the route of a new railway and a town-site, which would
mean more to him than any one could know. If it went through, he would,
for an investment of ten thousand dollars, have a hundred and fifty
thousand dollars; and that would solve an everlasting problem for him.

He had reached a critical point in his enterprise. All that was wanted
now was ten thousand dollars in cash to enable him to close the great
bargain and make his hundred and fifty thousand. But to want ten
thousand dollars and to get it in a given space of time, when you have
neither securities, cash, nor real estate, is enough to keep you awake
at night. Crozier had been so busy with the delicate and difficult
negotiations that he had not deeply concerned himself with the absence
of the necessary ten thousand dollars. He thought he could get the
money at any time, so good was the proposition; and it was best to defer
raising it to the last moment lest some one learning the secret should