The Washington herald., 1912-02-18
A Book of Ghost Stories.


LIE had begun to be interesting.
When the stock exchange opened
next day, | was sitting in the back Of
nee Of Towner & Wiclees, my eyes
scanning the morning Times with
eagerness, for j was looking for the
promised column OF sub rosa advertis-
ing. as Tower facetiously cIlled il. Yes,
there il was, in the biggest Of type ana
upon the front page:
London Electric in, Good Financial
Condition-Last Statement Shows Big
Gains in Profts-Rumored That the
Three Per Cent Dividend Is To Be
Raised--To Be Raised Seven Per Cent.
Electricity Has Revolutionized the
Lighting and Transportation Problems
in the City and Is Conceded to Be the
Greatest Boon of the Twentieth Cen
tury' k
Then ! read what was below, and
smiled. Tower certainly had a man OF
shrewdness and enterprise in his press
agent, and he had begun the campaign
with a good display OF fireworks.
AT 10 o'clock precisely the ticker be-
gan TO spin. and, as / looked down at
the paper thread for London Electric
L. Ell. in ticker hierogyphics--the door
opened and Tower walked in. A
trcshly-ironed checked suit covered the
broad proportions of his truly British
frame, and he was smoking a black
cigar:
"'Ah,' he said, nodding to me in a
friendly way see my article in the
Times this morningr
II was masterpiece exclaimed.
Tower smiled. Wait for the next
one. II will make the mornings leader
look like the pfoverbial thirty cents
I'm into this big this time, and we are
all going to climb out Of il with a snug
fortune IN our waistcoat pocket I've
a nice little shooting trip planned into
the Rockies, in the States, with a flyer
across the border-line into British Co
lumba. The only head | haven't got
Mountain goat, and when | put his
-whiskered excellency in between
my oryx from the Limpopo and my
nilghai from Northern India, I'll feel
happy. They're such dark fellows that
they need a white companion to set
them of. WON'T but my finger is itch
ing for a pull on my rife trigger He
chuckled and walked to the second
ticker.
Hello therel She's begun to move,
he said. Lunnon Electric up three
points in one rush. She's holding
steady. Up one-eighth. That's goodl
Let her go slow, boysl Not too fast
the first dayl We only want to draw
attention to our pet projectp The tele-
phone rang and he ran to the booth.
That you, Towner? Yes, swing a
hundred more shares INTO Dobbins and
hold up your hand with three fingers
up. That means that he is to take them
at a one-eighth rise and that he will
come back at you with FIVE hundred
shares. Stand him off Go away from
the booth and smoke cigars until after
lunch Stay away Spin pennies
Then waltz back just before the gong
sounds for closing and take him at his
one-eighth risei That'll be enough for
to-day! Don't want to lead the public
too far on the first novel -Four points
and an eighth are sufficient. Come
around to the club tonight and have
dinner with me- want to give you
fighting instructions
He. hung up the receiver and came
back into the room while | held the
tape in my hand and watched for Z. Ell.
as the paper ribbon spun on and on, for
countless shares we're being traded in,
and il was a good day on change.
Eagerly | watched for Towner's sale
to Dobbins, and in fifteen minutes it
came over the tape. London Electric
took jump of one-eighth. Then
went into the back Office and read the
papers, for there was no use watching
the ticker any longer The public would
not buy yet and the first step of this
seemed to be over.
Things warlike do not begin to as
sume interesting and exciting proper
tions until the scouts of the opposing
forces come into actual conflict WickeS
had said, We have enemies. So had
Tower. | knew that there would be a
fierce attack upon the following day
and | had begun to sniff the powder
Of battle with expectancy | was in for
FIVE thousand shares already and / in
tended to go in for five thousand more,
as | had absolute confidence in Tower,
a general of many hard-fought financial
who looked the part.
Nothing of much Importance hap
pened that day. His maiesty's red