"Can you?" The face of Jones brightened.

"I can."

"All right. I'll take it."

"Give me your note at sixty days, and I'll have the shares
transferred at once."

In five minutes from the time Perkins entered the store of Mr.
Jones, he left with the merchant's note for over four thousand
dollars in his hand. The shares in the Riverland Railroad had been
steadily advancing for some months, and Mr. Jones entertained not
the shadow of a doubt that in a very short period they would be up
to par. He had already purchased freely, and at prices beyond
eighty-two dollars. The speculation he regarded as entirely safe,
and one that would "pay" handsomely.

"I think that will pay a good deal better than hunting up the poor
widows of insolvent merchants," said Mr. Jones to himself, as he
walked the length of his store once or twice, rubbing his hands
every now and then with irrepressible glee. "If I'd been led off by
Smith on that fool's errand, just see what I would have lost.
Operations like that don't go a begging long. But this gentleman
knows in what quarter his interest lies."

Not long after the departure of Perkins, a small wholesale dealer,
named Armor, came into the store of Mr. Jones.

"I have several lots that I am anxious to close out this morning,"