“No,” said Mrs. Cowdrick; “she is beginning to ascertain that she has nerves, and she has to take iron every morning. At the pic-nic in September she tried to appear as girlish as she could; but I noticed, while she was skipping the rope with those little chits of Mrs. Parker’s, that she would catch her breath convulsively every time she went up; and you know she was in bed with lumbago for three days afterward.”
“She must marry,” said Mr. Cowdrick, with emphasis. “The case is getting desperate. I will speak to her about it to-night. I wish her, before I quit home, to have herself engaged to some one who is able to support her handsomely.”
“How soon will it be necessary for you to fly?” asked Mrs. Cowdrick.
“Before the end of next week, at the very latest. Matters are fast approaching a crisis at the bank. We might have pulled through after the failure of Snell and Adam, to whom, as one of the directors was a partner, we lent a large sum upon bogus collateral; and I did not despair even when Pinyard, Moon and Company, with whom I had a silent interest, went under just after obtaining that last hundred thousand of us; but I heard to-day that J. P. Hunn and Co. are very much embarrassed, and as we have hypothecated some good collaterals deposited with us by our best customers in order to keep Hunn on his legs, his failure will inevitably result in the exposure of the whole business.”
“And how much, dear, is the bank short?” asked Mrs. Cowdrick, kindly.
“A full million and a quarter at the lowest estimate. We can’t tell exactly, because the accounts have been so much falsified to hide the deficiency. But the capital has gone, and with it the bulk of the money belonging to the depositors; and as I say, a whole lot of collateral securities, placed in our hands by some of the best men in town. It’s a bad business! They will make it hot for us, I am afraid.”
“But then, dear, you will save something from the wreck, you said?”
“Oh, yes! Pinyard told me that he thought he and I would come out with two or three hundred thousand apiece, if we can manage the creditors of his firm so that they will take twenty-five per cent. of their claims in settlement. That, however, is only a possibility.”
“If the crash is coming so soon,” said Mrs. Cowdrick, with a thoughtful air, “there are some little things I should like to get at once.”
“What are they?”