stricken whispers, and pledging themselves to
absolute secrecy, Oliver suddenly clenched his fist and struck his knee.

"By God!" he exclaimed. "If I hadn't been a fool and tried to save an
extra margin, I could have had a million!"

CHAPTER XV

After such a victory one felt in a mood for Christmas festivities,--for
music and dancing and all beautiful and happy things.

Such a thing, for instance, as Mrs. Winnie, when she came to meet him;
clad in her best automobile coat, a thing of purest snowy ermine, so
truly gorgeous that wherever she went, people turned and stared and
caught their breath. Mrs. Winnie was a picture of joyful health, with a
glow in her rich complexion, and a sparkle in her black eyes.

She sat in her big touring-car--in which one could afford to wear
ermine. It was a little private self-moving hotel; in the limousine
were seats for six persons, with revolving easy chairs, and berths for
sleeping, and a writing-desk and a wash-stand, and a beautiful electric
chandelier to light it at night. Its trimmings were of South American
mahogany, and its upholstering of Spanish and Morocco leathers; it had
a telephone with which one spoke to the driver; an ice-box and a lunch
hamper--in fact, one might have spent an hour discovering new gimcracks
in this magic automobile. It had been made especially for Mrs. Winnie a
couple of years ago, and the newspapers said it had cost thirty
thousand dollars; it had then been quite a novelty, but now "everybody"
was getting them. In this car one might sit at ease, and laugh and
chat, and travel at the rate of an express train; and with never a jar
or a quiver, nor the faintest sound of any sort.

The streets of the city sped by them as if by enchantment. They went
through the park, and out Riverside Drive, and up the river-road which
runs out of Broadway all the way to Albany. It was a macadamized
avenue, lined with beautiful and stately homes. As one went farther
yet, he came to the great country estates-a whole district of hundreds
of square miles given up to them. There were forests and lakes and
streams; there were gardens and greenhouses filled with rare plants and
flowers, and parks with deer browsing, and peacocks and lyre-birds
strutting about. The road wound in and out among hills, the surfaces of
which would be one unbroken lawn; and upon the highest points stood
palaces of every conceivable style and shape.

One might find these great domains any