The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-03

Scott, man, what do I want with more of it?''
 Would you like to win out on this 1 little game of Sledge's?''
 "Show me how,' demanded Marley.
 ''How active are you willing to be?T inquired Bozzam. Are you willing tc jump through a hoop?'
 ''I'll do anything ttNt is lawful
 ''Then you'll go the linnit,'' smiled Bozzam- "Your first step will be to buy those two thousand odd shares al thirty-dve. Let's sec" He figured it out 'They will cost you a little over $s3,ooo."
 q haven't the money" confessed Marley. S'sledge has cleaned me out 1 of both cash and credit
 Borrow it on your stock.'
 t'I can't borrow over twenty on it. ] 1 couldn't raise enough on my total un. encountered stock.''
 Bozzam walked to the window and looked down into the street for some little time, during which Marley watch ed him in silent wonder, struggling against his rising hope
 T think I can raise a loan for you at twenty Bozzam reported as the 1 result of his deIiberation. "If that is not enough might have it arranged ] to buy the balance needed and vote it with you.''
 But what is the plan ?'' demanded Marley! 'I don't see what good con trol of a ruined company is going to do me nor why I should break myself buying worthless stock
 Because Sledge isn't liberal enough with me- returned Bozzam. ''Why, Marley, don't you see that this com pany of ours is a fake?"
 You don't mean itE' gasped Marley. Did S1edge have you start this com pany in order to break me?"
 'tOh, hushi' scorned Bozzam. t'He did it to sell the old company our fran chises, for the nice little quarter of a million dollars the public has just put up for stock in your reorganized com pany. Our stock is phony, strictly. The public has been allowed to buy fifty thousand of it, we get two hun dred thousand and SEedge seven hun dred and fifty. The public is the only person who has put up any money, and he gets his back. The only business we'll do is to sell our franchises and disband, with 25 per cent dividend The public gets twelve and a half thousand, we get fifty, and Sledge gets
 
 lion.''
 He paused to let all the beauty of that logical little plan sink into Mr.. Marley's inner being.
 Great Scottr' murmured MT. Mar ley and wiped his brow. "But how can we stop him?"
 Get control of the company Gall a special meeting. When we offer to sell you our franchises stand pat and refuse to pay more than, $50,OO0 for the franchises. You can defy us to build and make fine grand stand play out of it when you know that we won't We'll accept fifty thousand, and thenNy you jugg1e it to slip Moodson and Timbers and me a hundred thou sand on the side. You've saved your company a hundred thousand, we've dragged down what we ought to have for our work, Sledge gets the hook. and your stock bounces up to par Why, man, you'll not only be where you were before, but you'n clean up close to a hundred thousand profit on the stunt.%
 'tOrder some whisky" Marley sug- gested to his host.
  Sledge, in the luxurious little room
 
 day as president of the First National. gazed stonily at Bendix as he punched the button on his desk.
 ttChamberIain's house." he specuIat- ed. "Hunhr'
 Of course Marley gave notes for it. Thirty, sixty and ninety days and four months; four payments, of S7,OOO each"
 In answer to the bell Cashier Davis came in with the pomposity of the owner of the mint mingled with the obsequfousness of messenger boy.
 Frank Marley rumbled Sledge ac- cusingly- He's got money. Where did he get it?''
 Not here, sir,'' smiled MT. Davis, rubbing his fish fat hands together.
 'EFind out,'' directed S1edge, and Da- wis took his sleek white sideburns and his white waistcoats sout of the room.
 Hes using cash, even in the pay ment of his grocery bills,' supplement- ed Bendix. ssYoung Keene tells me that he saw into MarIey's pocketbooz, and it was stuffed with big bills, thou sands and five hundreds. Keene esti- mates that he must have had $3O,OOO with him."
 ''|Why don't the stock go down?'' de manOeO SloOS0, the accusing LOOK InlS time boring into Bendix.
 q pass,'' declared Bendix, turning both palms upward "I've had stuff in the papers every day about the new equipment and better schedules @nd the general crippling of the old line, but in place of going down to twenty five the stocks around thirty-seven now, and at that I can only find a lit tie of it. After a hard days work chasing it down yesterday picked up less than 100 shares. We started after the control too late.''
 |'Who's buying it?'
 "Cheap young brokers and has beens whom we haven't kept in line. They won't say who it's for, except that it's zoo ors7cT.c Tho eroT1oroI ir,oT1ToS-