“Don’t be a fool, Smith,” he laughed.  “What’s the matter with you?  It’s a cinch.  Go back and forget it.”  He shot out of the door and down the street.

John followed, dazed and trembling with horror at what he had done.  He went back to the cage and remained the rest of the day in terror lest the broker who owned the two bonds should pay off his loan.  But at the same time he had quickly made up his mind what he should do in that event.  There was more than one loan secured by American Navigation 4s.  He loosened a couple in one of the other piles.  If the first broker came in he would take two bonds from one of these.  But the broker did not come in.

That night John wandered the streets till nearly daylight.  He saw himself arrested, ruined, in prison.  Utterly fagged next morning, he called up Prescott on the telephone and begged him to return the bonds.  Prescott laughed at his fears and assured him that everything was all right.  Cotton was sure to go up.  An hour later the broker who owned the bonds came in and took up his loan, and John removed two American Navigation 4s from another bundle and handed them to the loan clerk.  Of course, the numbers on the bonds were not the same, but few persons would notice a little thing like that, even if they kept a record of it.  They had the bonds—­that was the main thing.

Once more John rushed to the ’phone, told Prescott what had occurred and besought him for the bonds.

“It’s too late now,” growled Prescott.  “Cotton has gone down.  I could only get one back at the most.  We had better stand pat and get out on the next bulge.”

John was by this time almost hysterical.  The perspiration broke out on his forehead every now and then, and he shuddered as he counted his securities and entered up his figures.  If cotton should go down some more!  That was the hideous possibility.  They would have to put up more margin, and then—!

Down in the vault where the depositors’ bonds were kept were two piles of Overland 4s.  One contained about two hundred and the other nearly six hundred bonds.  The par value of these negotiable securities alone was nearly eight hundred thousand dollars.  Twice a year John cut the coupons off of them.  Each pile was marked with the owner’s name.  They were never called for, and it appeared that these customers intended to keep them there permanently.  John, realizing that the chances of detection were smaller, removed two bonds from the pile of two hundred Overlands and substituted them with Prescott for the two Navigation 4s.

Then cotton went down with a slump.  Prescott did not wait even to telephone.  He came himself to the trust company and told John that they needed two more bonds for additional margin to protect their loan.  But he said it was merely temporary, and that they had better even up by buying some more cotton.  John went down into the vault and came back with four more Overland 4s bonds under his coat.  He was