“I have thought several times within the last month of inviting you to call upon me,” continued the president, “for I have no doubt you can supply us with valuable information and suggestions bearing upon the financial situation.” Wharton was about to express his appreciation of the honor, when the secretary of the treasury addressed his chief with such gravity of manner that conventional commonplaces were dropped at once. “Mr. Wharton and Mr. Brent have come to me with a statement of such tremendous import that I have brought them here at once without inquiring into particulars. I should say in the first place,” explained the secretary, while the president listened with close and rather surprised attention, “that Mr. Brent is the owner of all the gold which has been so mysteriously introduced into circulation during the past year, and that Mr. Wharton has been his agent in all the transactions with which we are familiar. The fact which I have hastened to bring instantly to your attention is this: These gentlemen inform me that the amount of virgin gold which they have thus far put upon the market is about five hundred millions, but _this enormous sum is less than one sixth of their total store of the metal_.” The president, while the secretary was speaking, had been unconsciously fingering a large paper-weight near the edge of his desk. His surprise was so great at the cabinet officer’s last words, that by an involuntary movement he sent the heavy implement clattering to the floor. No one in the anxious group noticed the noise. The secretary began pacing the room nervously. Brent’s face was melancholy, Wharton’s worried and worn. The president seemed to lose color for a moment, and then an expression of stern determination such as gathers in the faces of resolute men confronting sudden emergencies came upon his. There was a trace of sternness in his voice also when, after looking keenly at Brent for a moment, he inquired: “Can this be true, Mr. Brent?” “Yes,” answered Brent, almost guiltily, “unfortunately it is true.” “May I ask what you propose doing with this gold?” pursued the president. “That I do not know, sir. It is to ask your advice that I am here. The responsibility is too great for me. I stand ready to devote it to whatever purpose will best conserve the interests of the country and of humanity,” was the reply. “Thank God for that!” responded the president, evidently much relieved, “for you have in your hands a power for evil greater than I imagined any man possessed. What you have done already has not made me suspicious of your motives, although you will probably admit that some mistakes have been made. Can you tell us the history of this gold, where it is, and whether the source whence it comes is exhausted?”