"Now I'd been particularly hankering after Pittsburgh & New Orleans for quite a while. It was good in their old Southern system, but it looked mighty better outside of it. In independent hands it could stir up a lot of trouble; sort of like a plain daughter in a rich man's house--no one notices her until she runs off with the chauffeur. That was my idea. Only Pittsburgh was high. But--again the but--if some particular breed of coyote would be obliging enough to run it down along with a lot of other properties on the market, I might pitch in and help them force it down to where I could pick up what I wanted from the bargain counter. See?" "But you sold openly," said Bojo, amazed. "Exactly. Sold it where they could see it and bought it back twice over, ten times over, where they couldn't. Very simple process. All great processes are simple, and it never dawned on those monumental intelligences that they were fetchin' and carryin' for yours truly until they woke up at six o'clock to-day to find while they were scrambling in the dark, the chauffeur had run off with Miss Pittsburgh!" He turned and walked to the table desk, motioning to Bojo. "Come over here, look at it." He held out a check for ten million dollars. "You don't see one of those fellows very often. Great man, Gunther. When he's got to act he doesn't waste time. Right to the point. 'We are satisfied you have control. What's your terms?' 'Ten millions and what the stock cost me.' 'We accept your terms,' Great man, Gunther. Suppose I might have added another million, but it wouldn't have sounded as well, would it? Something rather nice about costs and ten million!" As he spoke, he had drawn out his check-book and filled out a check to Bojo. "Well, Tom, this isn't ten millions, but it's some pin money, and I guess to you it looks bigger than the other. There you are--take it." Bojo took it quite stupidly, saying: "Thank you, thank you, sir!" Drake watched the young man's emotion with tolerant amusement. "Don't wonder you're a bit shaken up, Tom. Supposing you call up a certain young lady on long distance. Rather please her, I reckon." "Why, yes. I wanted to do it. I--I will, of course." "So you thought I was going to sell short Pittsburgh & New Orleans," said Drake with a roguish humor. Bojo nodded, at loss for words, biding the moment to escape into the outer air. "But, of course, Tom," said Drake slowly, with smiling eyes, "_you_ didn't tell any one, did you?" Bojo mumbled something incoherent and went out, clutching the check, which lay in his hand with the heaviness of lead. In the open air he tried to readjust the events of the night. He had a confused idea of rushing through the great hall, past the mechanical footman, of hearing Thompson cry, "Get you a taxi, sir!" and of being far down resounding pavements in the lovely night with something still clutched in his hand.