The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1877-05-12

out of breath, into the Office of De Bruin
& Cubb.
Chatter, be it understood, was fero-
ciOus "bear." he had no doubt but
stocks, generally, were on the point of
tumbling, and that Endless Track, in
particular, would be down to zero in a
fortnight. He, too, contemplated a
nice little "spec" on his own account,
without ''letting on" to his partner.
The margin was paid and Mr.. Chat
ter's order taken, that gentleman re-
turning home by the evening express
for he wished to be at his post when
Mr.. Prigg got back from his shooting.
The latter's absence proved shorter
than had been expected The shooting
was poor, it seems, and few days had
sufficed to tire him.
Morning after morning the two part.
ners, who were accustomed to breakfast
together in bachelor style, glanced
eagerly over the city papers, devouriDg
the financial articles with futter Of
anxiety which each did his hest to con-
ceal.
One day Mr.. CHATTER uttered sup
pressed exclamation of Joy. He had
just opened letter from which dropped
a check for a large amount. 1t was for
his gains on Endless Track, which,
since his "shOrt" safe, had suddenly
dropped to almost nothing, and Messrs.
De Bruin e Cubb had seized the oppor-
tunity to "close" for their customer,
Mr.. Prigg was too busy with his paper
to notice his friends exutation.
L.. .Iu.. IL
clenched teeth.
"What's the matter ?" inquired
CHATTER, with the blandness of d man
entirely happy.
"Endless Track gone to smash /"
growled the other.
"I always said it would" said Chat
fer. "But what of it? we've kept out
of it, r-
81 haven't" returned Prigg "half
our capitals in it !"
CHATTER gave start; but the recol-
lection of the check in his packet in
measure composed him. He, at any
rate, would be a gamer on the whole.
"There's one consolation, though"
Prigg continued. "Those rascals, De
Bruin & Cubb, who did so much to run
the stock down, see got caught on
Soapbubble Preferred, and have failed
for million"
"Whew /" whistled CHATTER, whose
check, Of course, was worthless.
1t was now Prigg's turn to ask what
the matter was. CHATTER made clean
breast of it. What was to be done was
the next question.
"First of all, keep our secret" sug-
gested CHATTER "next, you must marry
the widow or Miss Sparks. without a
moments delay-Dut wh-what's this?"
-glancing at a paragraph which had
just caught his eye-"Kyte & Co., too,
have gone up. Didn't Miss Sparks
keep her money there ?"
"Of course she did, found that out
month ago."
"Then you must marry the widow"
"The widow be It," said Prigg, with
sigh of resignation.
And the widow it was. She offered
no coy pleas for delay, and the nuptial
knot was speedily lied.
"A-a-I-- the fact is," stammered
Prigg over his coffee one morning, 81
find myself deucedly short at present,
my dear, and-and If you ouiy could
now-that is, you see, your check for a
thousand or So"
"Nothing could give me more pleas
ure, Percy, DEAR" interrupted the lady;
"but, you see, that provoking Endless
Track"
"What did you, too, put your
money in it?"
every cent had in the world, Per-
cy, dear but then, you know, youand
everybody said it was so safe, and that
the money would soon be trebled. ]
wonld have mentioned the thing before,
but ] didn't wish to mar this happy
season by speaking of such triaes."
What "Percy, DEAR" would have
said next, had he dared, Pm afraid
wouldn't look nice in print.
1t didn't sOOth his feelings to learn
} that Minnie Sparks, who didn't lose
| her money after all, having drawn II
: from Kyle & Co. the day before their
r failure, by the advice of Toby Square
7 man, married that gentleman shortly
after. If Percy, dear, felt any conso
5 lation under the circumstances, 1t mus
: have been of nature akin to that de
: rived by the fox from the sourness OF
| the grapes that hung above his reach