“I suppose,” Montague remarked, “you have not failed to realize that Evans might play you false.”
And the other laughed, echoing the words, “Might do it!” Then he went on to tell the tale of the great railroad builder of the West, whose daughter had been married, with elaborate festivities; and some of the young men present, thinking to find him in a sentimental mood, had asked him for his views about the market. He advised them to buy the stock of his road; and they formed a pool and bought, and as fast as they bought, he sold—until the little venture cost the boys a total of seven million and a half!
“No, no,” Oliver added. “I have never put up a dollar for anything of Evans’s, and I never shall.—They are simply a side issue, anyway,” he added carelessly.
A couple of mornings later, while Montague was at breakfast, his brother called him up and said that he was coming round, and would go down town with him. Montague knew at once that that meant something serious, for he had never before known his brother to be awake so early.
They took a cab; and then Oliver explained. The moment had arrived—the time to take the plunge, and come up with a fortune. He could not tell much about it, for it was a matter upon which he stood pledged to absolute secrecy. There were but four people in the country who knew about it. It was the chance of a lifetime—and in four or five hours it would be gone. Three times before it had come to Oliver, and each time he had multiplied his capital several times; that he had not made millions was simply because he did not have enough money. His brother must take his word for this and simply put himself into his hands.
“What is it you want me to do?” asked Montague, gravely.
“I want you to take every dollar you have, or that you can lay your hands on this morning, and turn it over to me to buy stocks with.”
“To buy on margin, you mean?”
“Of course I mean that,” said Oliver. Then, as he saw his brother frown, he added, “Understand me, I have absolutely certain information as to how a certain stock will behave to-day.”
“The best judges of a stock often make mistakes in such matters,” said Montague.