"Sure enough!" exclaimed Montague.

"You see!" said the Major, with a chuckle. "You have jumped right
into the middle of the frog pond, and the Lord only knows what a
ruction you have stirred up! Just think of the situation for a
moment. The Steel Trust is over-capitalised two hundred per cent.
Because of the tariff it is able to sell its product at home for
fifty per cent more than it charges abroad; and even so, it has to
keep cutting its dividends! Its common stock is down to ten. It is
cutting expenses on every hand, and of course it's turning out a
rotten product. And now along comes Wyman, the one man in Wall
Street who dares to shake his fist at old Dan Waterman; and he gives
the newspapers all the facts about the bad steel rails that are
causing smash-ups on his roads; and he turns all his contracts over
to the Mississippi Steel Company, which is under-selling the Trust.
The company is swamped with orders, and its plants are running day
and night. And then along comes a guileless young fool with a little
dinky railroad which he wants to run into the Company's back
door-yard; and he takes the proposition to Jim Hegan!"

The Major arrived at his climax in a state of suppressed emotion,
which culminated in a chuckle, which shook his rubicund visage and
brought a series of twitches to his aching toe. As for Montague, he
was duly humbled.

"What would you do now?" he asked, after a pause.

"I don't see that there's anything to do," said the Major, "except
to hold on tight to your stock. Perhaps if you go on talking out