ing eyes fell on
the quotation board, and at once his face spread into a broad smile.

"Hello, Sol!" Abe cried. "You look like you sold a big bill of goods."

"I hope I look better than that, Abe," Sol replied. "I make it more on
that Interstate Copper in two days what I could make it on ten big bills
of goods. That's a great property, Abe."

"I think Mr. Klinger will have reason to congratulate himself still more
by to-morrow, Mr. Potash," Fiedler broke in. "Interstate Copper is a
stock with an immediate future."

"You bet," Sol agreed. "I'm going to hold on to mine. It'll go up to
five inside of a week."

The young man from the rear of the room took the two rows of chairs at a
jump.

"Fiedler," he said, "I'm going to cover right away. Buy me a thousand
Interstate at the market."

Sol nudged Abe, and after the young man and Fiedler had disappeared into
the latter's private office Sol imparted in hoarse whispers to Abe that
the young man was reported to have information from the ground-floor
crowd about Interstate Copper.

"Well, if that's so," Abe replied, "why does he lose money on it?"

"Because," Sol explained, "he's got an idee that if you act just
contrariwise to the inside information what you get it, why then you
come out right."

Abe shook his head hopelessly.

"Pinochle, I understand it," he said, "and skat a little also. But this
here stocks from stock exchanges is worser than chest what they play it
in coffee-houses."

"You don't need to understand it, Abe," Sol replied. "All you do is to
buy a thousand Interstate Copper to-day or to-morrow at any price up to
two and a half, Abe, and I give you a guarantee that you make
twenty-five hundred dollars by next week."

When Abe returned to his place of business that day he had developed a
typical case of stock-gambling fever, with which he proceeded to
inoculate Morris as soon as the latter came back from lunch. Abe at once
recounted all his experiences of the morning and dwelt particularly on
the phenomenal rise of Interstate Copper.

"Sol says he guarantees that we double our money in a week," he
concluded.

"Did he say he would put it in writing?" Morris asked.

Abe glared at Morris for an instant.

"Do you think I am making jokes?" he rejoined. "He don't got to put it
in writing, Mawruss. It's as plain as the nose on your face. We pay
twenty-five hundred dollars for a thousand shares at two and a half
to-day, and next week it goes up to