"But I got it back, and a lot more in six weeks."
"Which excites you most—winning or losing, Jim?"
"One gets accustomed to winning," said the successful speculator, "but losing is heart-breaking, particularly when you are unable to guess what the loss will be."
"Ah," said Betty. "What do you do with your gains?"
"Let 'em increase and multiply. The mater won't live in a better house, I mean a larger, and she refuses, in advance, all the presents that I've not given her." He laughed, then he continued in a hard voice: "That question of loss interests me."
He looked at Betty, who slightly lowered her parasol and made no reply.
"I never forget my losses."
"Because they have been few?"
"Because they have been heavy. The fellows in our market would tell you that I have a very serious failing: I don't know when to let go."
"I call that a virtue: in a word, you don't know when you're beat."