The journals pitched into “speculation.”

Three banks lay in the dust in the town of ——­, and Hardie & Son stood looking calmly down upon the ruins.

Richard Hardie had carried out his double-headed plan.

There was no run upon him—­could not be one in the course of nature, his balances were so low, and his notes were all at home.  He created artificially a run of a very different kind.  He dined the same party of tradesmen—­all but one, who could not come, being at supper after Polonius his fashion.  After dinner he showed the packets still sealed, and six more unsealed.  “Here, gentlemen, is our whole issue.”  There was a huge wood fire in the old-fashioned room.  He threw a packet of notes into it.  A most respectable grocer yelled and lost color:  victim of his senses, he thought sacred money was here destroyed, and his host a well-bred, and oh! how plausible, maniac.  The others derided him, and packet after packet fed the flames.  When two only were left, containing about five thousand pounds between them, Hardie junior made a proposal that they should advertise in their shop windows to receive Hardie’s five-pound notes as five guineas in payment for their goods.  Observing a natural hesitation, he explained that they would by this means, crush their competitors, and could easily clap a price on their goods to cover the odd shillings.  The bargain was soon struck.  Mr. Richard was a great man.  All his guests felt in their secret souls and pockets—­excuse the tautology—­that some day or other they should want to borrow money of him.  Besides, “crush their competitors!”

Next day Mr. Richard loosed his hand and let a flock of his own bank-notes fly (they were asked for earnestly every day).  Some soon found their way to the shops in question.  The next day still more took wing and buzzed about the shops.  Presently other tradesmen, finding people rushed to the shops in question, began to bid against them for Hardie’s notes, a result the long-headed youth had expected; and said notes went up to ten shillings premium.  Too calm and cold to be betrayed into deserting his principles, he confined the issue within the bounds he had prescribed, and when they were all out seldom saw one of them again.  By this means he actually lowered the Bank of England notes in public estimation, and set his own high above them in the town of ——.  Deposits came in.  Confidence unparalleled took the place of fear so far as he was concerned, and he was left free to work the other part of his plan.

To the amazement and mystification of old Skinner, he laid out ten thousand pounds in Exchequer bills, and followed this up by other large purchases of paper, paper, nothing but paper.

Hardie senior was nervous.

“Are you true to your own theory, Richard?”