The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-03-18
(Continued.1 CHAPTER XII.
After Dinner Smoke.

It might readily be supposed tha1
 with Q legacy of more than q half 2
 hundred thousand dollars, MT. Twin
 ings friendship restored, and the i misunderstanding with his best 1 friends cleared up, Chester nigh | feel fairly contented with life. But 1 there came no opportunity for ar
 explanation with Edith. Her father l treated him with unfeigned cordial | ity, but Chester imagined that he de
 tected a hidden reserve. He won 1 6ered how much MT. Twining knew,
 and what he thought of the meet ! ings in the park He could not bring
 himself to broach the subject, Ches- 1 ter was thoroughly miserable. | He was back with Goldsmith & 1 E1lxins now, and quickly absorbing at
 least 9 superficial Knowledge of the 1 brokerage business. But, as day aft i CT day passed with no word of Edith,
 his desperation took a peculiar turn. 'fWhy should have cherished any bcpes?" he asked himself ''Why should a girl marry penniless pau per?''
 He could not forbear 2 smile at the contrast with the time few
 months previous when he considered himself opulent with three dollars in ready cash. Flow he had nearly sixty thousand dollars to his credit in the bank, and he called himself a pau per- He resolved to increase the amount immediately, and consulted Goldsmith on the subject. The lat
 ter revealed himself in a totally new aspect.
 You are an asin1ne idiot.'' he tbundered. s'In all my experience in the Street never have encountered such a fool. Here you have heaven sent fortune granted you by divine Providence for an especial purpose, 9 nd you wish to throw It away! You can't buy a penny worth of stock on margin through this office"
 Chester laughed somewhat dismal Iy.
 m ..E haven't morey to marry on.'' he
 said, t*and even if I had she wouldn't have me-
 .sThen why risk the money?'' asked Goldsmith.
 That's logical said Chester, "but not conclusive
 Thus it was that Chester invested fifty thousand dollars on a slight
 margin through another house. The divine Providence which Goldsmith had mentioned remained kind, and Chester threw the benefit back in her teeth by investing his profits in still more of the same stock, or pyramid ing. The psychology of a crowd of investors is a matter of daily com raent in the Street, but it is not ac- customed to take into account the individual psychology of an obscure speculator who is making an ass of himself because his ladylove is un kind. Chesters operations gave Iu unwonted impetus to the stock, an impetus which was various1y attri- tuted to every big interest in the Street. The "big interest," in Wal Street, otherwise known as they" or more specifically as some vague az gregation of interests under the gen eral appellation of such-and-such a crowd, is the anonymous daenon hated and feared by the host of small operators. They" in this case, were pulling this particular stock. So said the wise ones- The Big interest was trying to bull the whole market by sympathetic action. Those gen erally conceded to be among the ''bi:g interest were equally at loss to know whence came this furious on siaught, but it is not given to them to deny the Knowledge of any one of +3.c they are denying it for 2 specific pur- pose. Therefore the t'big interest," looked wise and waited. Up and up scared the stock, a point or a point l and 8 half a day. It began to dawn cn the "big interest that they too might as well have some of these | profits which were accru1ng to some i one. The tbig interest began to : buy. As soon as Chester noticed by the daily totals of transactions that there were other purchasers beside i himself, he had what he had hitherto Iacked-a market. In the next few days he gradually succeeded in sell ing almost all of his stock. His bal i ance at the bank stood at such d 1 figure in consequence that he could | contemplate matrimony without a | oualm. There came a sudden reces- sion in inc stock when Chester ceas- ed to support it, and more than one member Of the ''big interest," had | reason to wonder once again at the | b1e nature of stock-mark ct | movements. Had they been told that 1 the first cause of this mysterious T0GVeTnGnt dRcRa actress they would have listened to 1 the solution with impatience.
 One of the men who was some |