"And other competent judges are of a very different opinion," replied the aunt. "Mr. Day, who was Margaretta's guardian, has just been here, and says that we must not sell by any means; that after the panic is over the stock will go up again. The bank, he assures us, is fully able to meet every dollar, and still have a large surplus. It would be folly then to sell, especially when there is no urgent demand for the money."
"There is more urgent demand than you know of," Mr. Smith said to himself with bitter emphasis. He added aloud,—
"Mr. Day may know something about the matter; but I am sure he is mistaken in the calculation he makes. It is said this morning, by those who know, that the assets of the bank are principally in worthless stocks, and that the shareholders will never get a cent. My advice, then, is to sell immediately; a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
But both the wife and aunt objected; and so soon after marriage he felt that positive opposition would come with a bad grace.
Steadily day after day, the stock went down, down, down—and day after day Mr. Smith persisted in having it sold. The fact was, duns now met him at every turn, and it was with the utmost difficulty that he could prevent his wife and her aunt from guessing at the nature of the many calls of his "particular friends." Money he must have, or he could not keep out of prison long, and the only chance for his obtaining money was in the sale of his wife's stock. But at the rates for which it was now selling, the whole proceeds would not cover the claims against him. At last, when the stock had fallen to twenty dollars, Mrs. Smith yielded to her husband's earnest persuasions, and handed him over the certificates of her stock, that he might dispose of them to the best possible advantage.
"Mr. Smith is late in coming home to his dinner," the aunt said, looking at the timepiece.
The young wife lifted her head from her hand, with a sigh, and merely responded,
"Yes, he is rather late."
"I wonder what keeps him so!" the old lady remarked, about five minutes after, breaking the oppressive silence.
"I'm sure I cannot tell. I gave him my certificates of stock to sell this morning."