tled. I
have nothing on my conscience," he said with a sigh. The ten thousand he
had added represented in a confused way a tribute to that conscience, to
those others, unknown and unvisualized, whom unwittingly he might have
caused to suffer.

"Bojo!"

"Hello! What is it?"

He came out hurriedly at the sound of Granning's voice.

"Roscy on the 'phone.... What?... Good God!"

"What's that? What's happened?" he cried, as Fred came rushing out.

"Forshay--committed suicide--this morning--at his club--cut his
throat!"

CHAPTER XVII

PAYING THE PIPER--PLUS

To go down to the office with the pall of disaster and tragedy over it,
to face the accusatory looks of Hauk and Flaspoller with the dread
consciousness of his own personal responsibility, was the hardest thing
Bojo had ever had to do. Several times in the subway, filled with the
Wall Street crowd excitedly discussing the sudden turn of yesterday,
alarmed for the future, he had a wild impulse toward flight. Before him
were the startling scare-heads of the _Morning Post_, the sole paper to
have the story.

DRAKE BUYS AND SELLS PITTSBURGH AND NEW ORLEANS

SECURED CONTROL AT 6 MONDAY. SOLD AT MIDNIGHT. PROFIT IN
MILLIONS. BROKERS HARD HIT. THREE FIRMS SUSPEND. CLIMAX OF
DRAMATIC DAY.

He saw only dimly what every one else was poring over frantically. He
was reading over for the twentieth time the ugly story of Forshay's
suicide.

WELL-KNOWN BROKER ENDS LIFE AT CLUB

W. O. FORSHAY THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN CAUGHT IN DRAKE'S CLEAN
UP

The bare facts followed, with a history of Forshay's career, his social
connections, an account of his marriage, city house, and country house.

"But after all am I responsible?" he said to himself miserably, and
though he returned always to the premise that he had been an innocent
participant, he began to be obsessed with the spreading sense of ruin
which such victories could occasion.

Forshay would not have blamed him, perhaps, for Forshay had played the
game to the limit of the law and asked no favors. It was not that which
profoundly troubled him and awoke the long dormant ethical sense. Had
Drake figured out just what his conclusions would be and the effect on
the public from allowing him to proceed blindly on a wrong start? In a
word, had Drake deliberately used him to mislead others, knowing that
after the success of Indiana Smelter his prospective son-in-law would be
credited