found out that they knew the value of the property and, if they learned what we were up to, would hold for a fancy price.  So, through this chap Pulcifer—­we bought his five hundred shares—­we began buying up the thirteen hundred which would give us a controlling interest and force the other crowd to do what we wanted.  We picked up the small holdings easily enough, but we couldn’t get yours or Hallett’s.  And for a very good reason, too.  Ho, ho, ho!  And old Loosh, of all people!  Ho, ho!”

Still Miss Phipps did not laugh, nor did she look at him.  “By the way,” he observed, “I presume my—­er—­relative paid you a fair price for the stock, Miss Phipps?”

“He paid me twenty dollars a share,” she said, quietly.

“Did he, indeed!  Well, that is more than we’ve paid any one else, except Pulcifer.  We allowed him a commission—­a margin—­on all he succeeded in buying. . . .  Humph! . . .  And I suppose Galusha paid old Hallett par, too.  But why he should do such a thing is—­ well, it is beyond me.”

She answered, but still she did not look at him.

“He told you,” she said.  “He knew I needed money.  I was foolish enough to let him guess—­yes, I told him that I had a hard time to get along.  He was interested and he tried to cheer me up by tellin’ me he thought you might buy that stock of mine.  He couldn’t have been more interested if it had been somethin’ of his own.  No, not nearly so much; he and his own interests are the last thing he thinks about, I guess.  And then he kept cheerin’ me up and pretendin’ to be more and more sure you would buy and—­and when he found you wouldn’t he—­but there, he told us the truth. I understand why he did it, Mr. Cabot.”

The banker shook his head.  “Well, I suppose I do, too, in a way,” he said.  “It is because he is Galusha Bangs.  Nobody else on earth would think of doing such a thing.”

“No, nobody else would.  But thirteen thousand dollars, Mr. Cabot!  Why, that’s dreadful!  It’s awful!  He must have used every cent he owns, and I didn’t suppose he owned any, scarcely.  Oh, Mr. Cabot, I must pay him back; I must pay him right away.  Do you want to buy that stock he bought?  Will you buy it of him, so he can have his money again?”

She was looking at him now and her voice was shaking with anxiety.  Cabot laughed once more.

“Delighted, Miss Phipps,” he assured her.  “That is what I have been trying to do for a month or more.  But don’t worry about old Galusha’s going broke.  He—­why, what is it?”

“Oh, nothin’.  I was thinkin’ about what he did and—­and—­”

“Yes, I know.  Isn’t it amazing?  I have known him all my life, but I’m never sure how he will fly off the handle next.  Of course, I realize you must think him a perfect jackass, an idiot—­”

“What!  Think him what?”