Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-06

You VIII have to deposit l5O-point mar
gin for these inflated speculative stocks
or this account is Immediately closed"
Surely my personal connections Justify
better treatment" pleaded Birdseye
Look! My associate and 1 have had a
s4OO 600 net loss on the whole series Of
investments"
Your losses do not concern us"
snapped the broker. ITO get It back you
must be right on market, and the past
does not Justify such a prediction for the
future. This is no place to run shoe
string into a tannery. AS for your as
sociate, whom we have never seen, II
might be to your profit TO look him up.
fear you have been imposed upon"
Birdseye evidenced no desire to discuss
Senior Nelasquez, and the broker desisted
further from comment on the supposed
South American banker. Taking a new
tack the fat man said, Il have good
American friends, powerful men"
Then, let them take care Of you" said
the broker Margin requirements in an
honest stock exchange house are based
upon the fluctuations of the stocks trad
ed In, and not upon personal consdera-
tions The securities you have fancied
have nuctuated from 10 to 30 points In
single day. We have given you 'rea-
sonable notice. and the time limit ex-
plres today We must protect ourselves,
and In so doing we protect other custom
ers who deal with us, also keep our
credit good with the banks that lend us
money to keep going"
Birdseye fumblcd ut an inside pocket
and drew forth some papers. He said
Here Is 100000 worth of life Insurance
policies. Take them, and carry me an
other day"
The broker drew back aghust. a pity
ing look came into his face
80 you are really down to tho bottom
OF the safety deposit box" he said kind
ly. Il am panied to tell you l can do
nothing for you Keep the policies. 1
see the beneficiary Is your wife. we are
a house that has never yet robbed
widow"
BIrdseye arose. Ho felt completely
tagged by the labor Of making his final
tether. No uso to say more. Brokers
arc always like that Heartless. He
bowed and made his way into the custom
ers' rom adjoining. Harrison was right,
he thought; 1t would never do to rob a
widow He recalled distinctly that the
broker used the word widow He Won
dercd II the broker suspected.
The fat man dropped into a mahogany
chair of wide, comfortable arms, dl-
rectly in front of the board, with It's
vertical rows of figures slowly climbing
downward and filling the black spaces.
For full half hour he remained quiet
and inert. lie felt he was n bit OF a
coward after all, Then he fell to think
Ing He recalled his first meeting with
VelasqueF Rt Washington club. Strange
man! Astounding magnetism! Then he
began to recount the steps In his weak
ness before he finally fell under the com
plete influence of tho foreigner. Velas-
quez was n black magician.
BIrdseye started. a man had taken
tho chair beside him. He wondered IL he
was detective. No. His feet were
small. and he wore tailored clothes. The
fat man breathed easy again. He some
how felt muddled ana distressed. They
would find him short in his accounts
with the estate of John Montgomery on
Monday. This was Thursday. He might
live four days. Why not wait? No! His
chance TO win back what he had lost was
gone,
CONTINUED TOMORROW