Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1893-08-23
A TALE OF THE PANIC.

Fair was caught by the bear rush July Is.
Monday he bought Chicago Gas at 60.
just why he bought so heavily is mys-
terry to him now, although it seemed then
the most natural thing in the world. He
had been tipped by a big operator that
Chicago Gas was going up, but as he had
long ago foresworn tips that had nothing
to do with it, A possibility is that hs
was carried into an irresponsible ac-
tivity on the floor by the citation that, he
declared to himself, made him that day
the happiest man on the street. The deal
in stocks may have been the escape valve
through which he blew off the enthusiasm
engendered by the preceding days sue
cessful deal In values of an even more un-
stable kind--values that sometimes fuc-
tuate as wildly as Erie common, and some-
times are as steady IN their worth as gov
eminent bonds--the affections of a
woman.
When Charley Fair asked Helen Van
Heusen to marry him that Sunday after
noon in Newport where he had gone for
the day and that especial purpose) he did
so with the consciousness that he was
rich young man, and the belief that had
he been a poor young man he would have
had no show whatever. This belief was
not, in his opinion, disparaging to Helen.
She was an eminently correct member of
their "set," and marriage to poor young
man would have been very bad form.
Helen was never bad form, so she would
not have tolerated such thought. The
knowledge of this made Charley all the
fonder of her. Besides, it would have
been exceedingly bad form for poor
young man to have asked her to marry
him. Charley was ne, er bad form, either;
so if he had been poor he would not have
proposed.
But everything had been as correct as
possible. The match seemed to be good
form all around, and, as 1 have said,
Charley was exultant as he received the
congratulations of his friends. lie was
receiving them when he bought Chicago
Gas at e. on Monday.
That night he spent at the club and for
got Chicago Gas. He had never done
such thing before, but he was still ex
allied.
The next morning began to look bad
before the Exchange opened. Charley
had learned before 10 o'clock that Chicago
Gas was not going to rise that day and it
worried him, but he was not prepared for
what followed. Instead of rising his
stock went down, and down and still
further down. 1t closed at AN and
Charley was Mortified. The slump was
more than he could carry. All he could
do was to pay his debts, and think about
getting something to do to make enough
to live on.
Of course that settled him with Heien.
With his heart in his shoes and stupid
feeling in his head he sent this telegram
to her:
Have lost everything on Chicago Gas
Of course in the circumstances shall not
expect you to consider yourself bound by
Sundays promise. Believe me, had no
idea of coming disaster on that day.
May you have every happiness. Good
bye.
He sent this message off and went home.
He was thrashing around in bed trying to
sleep when he received the following
answer:
You are foolish boy. Uncle John
will lend you $4,000. See him tonight
and meet me at the Grand Central to-
morrow morning. l refuse to release
you.
This staggered him. He couldn't under
stand it. Was it possible that Helen
cared more for him than she did for good
form and would stick to him, sink or
swim? He rang for b. and s. and re-
marked intensely to himself:
II didn't know that girl"
Then he went to see "Uncle john"
The old gentleman said he was glad to
let him have the ten thou. (He ought to
have been, seeing that he had made twice
that sum out of him during the day; but
Charley didn't know that.) At z he met
Helen at the train. She tripped grace
tulip down the platform and actually
kissed him before the early morning
crowd, just as girl not in society might
have done. AT breakfast she told him
about some of the markets
mysterious bears.
"Papa and Uncle John are both in it,
she said, smiling, while his eyes got big,
"and now that you are in the family you,
ought to be. To-day you must sell
and" 1.-THE name was given to Charley
in confidence, and the confidence of a
pretty woman must always be respected.
You see, went on Miss Van Heusen,
"you have been putting your head as
bull against papa's as a bear. Don't do
it any more"
The rest of their conversation did not
deal with business and is none of our af-
fairs. Charley did rs he was told and
since then has been on the right side of
the market. He has also framed some
new ideas about society girls-about ono
society girl in particular.
This is true story.
Where to stop I'm chicago.
The perplexing question which is every
Ia nnlnd l,,s s>e1.>la laas~o L., 81, IL,