spose of
before I could call my funds whole.

In the midst of my calculation, I was disturbed by a message from
Messrs. Hennetit & Co. They desired to see me immediately, and requested
to know when it would suit my convenience to call on them. I replied, in
half an hour; and when I was leaving the store to keep my appointment,
my blunt friend stopped me.

"Hennetit & Co.," he said, "have received a number of orders for flour,
and they must fill them. Don't sell for less than what I paid you;
perhaps you can get more."

I thanked my acquaintance for his hint, and acted on it. When Mr.
Hennetit talked about purchasing a few barrels, I put him off by
replying that it was hardly worth while to retail them, and that I had
received proposals for all that I held, and that I probably should
accept.

This information rather startled the cautious gentleman, and the
question was put to me without equivocation,--

"How much advance did I demand for the flour which they held for for
me?"

"Fifty-six pounds per ton," I replied, promptly and firmly.

"Would I not take fifty pounds?"

"No"

"Would I sell all that I held in the city to the firm of Hennetit & Co.
for that price?"

I replied that I would, provided the transaction was cashed that
afternoon.

There was a short discussion among the members of the firm; and I saw
the junior partner go out in great haste. He returned in a few minutes,
and reported, I knew what he went after. He desired to learn the
direction of the wind before completing the bargain. Fortune favored me.
It was blowing a gale directly off shore.

"Will you take a check on the bank, or do you desire gold dust?" was Mr.
Hennetit's polite interrogation.

I replied that I preferred the dust, if it was clean, and had been
received from the government office. It was warranted free of sand; and
while the weighing commenced, I drew up orders for the delivery of flour
held by the several firms in the city. By the time that I had concluded,
the dust was put into bags, marked with my name, the amount in each bag,
and I found myself thy possessor of ten thousand pounds in hard cash, or
nearly fifty thousand dollars.

In less than an hour the money was safely locked up in the vaults of the
bank; and then I began to feel as though I had passed through an ordeal
that had left me, at least, ten years older than I really was; and I
almost made a solemn vow never to attempt another speculation; but I am
glad