He crossed over to Barrington, who smiled at him dryly as he said, "It is a trifle soon to admit that I was wrong."
Winston made a gesture of almost impatient deprecation. "I was wondering how far I might presume, sir. You have forward wheat to deliver?"
"I have," said Barrington, "unfortunately a good deal. You believe the advance will continue?"
"Yes," said Winston simply. "It is but the beginning, and there will be a reflux before the stream sets in. Wait a little, sir, and then telegraph your broker to cover all your contracts when the price drops again."
"I fancy it would be wiser to cut my losses now," said Barrington dryly.
Then Winston did a somewhat daring thing, for he raised his voice a trifle, in a fashion that seemed to invite the attention of the rest of the company.
"The more certain the advance seems to be, the fiercer will be the bears' last attack," he said. "They have to get from under, and will take heavy chances to force prices back. As yet they may contrive to check or turn the stream, and then every wise man who has sold down will try to cover, but no one can tell how far it may carry us, once it sets strongly in!"
The men understood, as did Colonel Barrington, that they were being warned, as it were, above their leader's head, and his niece, while resenting the slight, admitted the courage of the man. Barrington's face was sardonic, and a less resolute man would have winced under the implication as he said:
"This is, no doubt, intuition. I fancy you told us you had no dealings on the markets at Winnipeg."
Winston looked steadily at the speaker, and the girl noticed with a curious approval that he smiled.