the sea with brooms."

"Why did you send for me?" demanded Edwardes, though he knew.

"To ask your aid," came the crisp reply. "This is a general alarm. The
next few hours will roar to the continuous crash of falling banks--many
of them banks that have a close relationship to you, Edwardes. Once more
we must go to the rescue and it will take fifty additional millions.
Otherwise--panic unparalleled. We expect you to stand your pro rata."

"Gentlemen," said the latest comer bluntly, "this raid is primarily
aimed at me--its principal object is my destruction. Already I am hit
for millions. I, too, was about to call for help from you. When this
succession of crashes comes, Edwardes and Edwardes may be among the
ruins."

The bushy brows of Malone came together in astonishment. "Great heavens,
man! Edwardes and Edwardes is a synonym for Gibraltar."

"And under heavy enough artillery--" Edwardes spoke with bitter
calmness--"Gibraltar would be a synonym for scattered junk. What news
from Washington?"

"Washington has called Burton on the telephone. The Secretary of the
Treasury has failed to connect with him. He does not acknowledge
telegrams. He is ignoring the government and treating the President
with contempt. He wants to have today for his massacre--and to talk
about it tomorrow. We have sent repeatedly to his office. He can't be
reached."