Then Halloran's chair came down with a bang and his open hand slapped the desk. He had got it. The idea that had evaded him all these weeks was finally run to cover, was bagged securely. And the simplicity of it all, the feeling of utter imbecility in having failed to see it before, left him limp. But he recovered. “Crosman,” he said, “I'm going to Chicago to-night and may not get back before the first of the week. You look out for things here, will you?” The assistant was growing hardened to surprises. He merely nodded now, with a curious expression. Halloran had got it. And for a moment he could only say to himself, over and over: “What a fool! What a fool!” He could only think of that tremendous output of lumber thrown on the market for a song. “Selling to our customers, eh,” he thought; “selling to our customers!” “Crosman,” he said, when he felt that he was on his legs again, “we're going to buy lumber.” Crosman did not grasp it at first. “We're going to buy lumber--all we can get,” Halloran repeated; “and I'm going down to get the money.” It was sinking into Crosman's head--slowly he was gripping it, this idea of Halloran's. Higgin-son & Company were going to buy lumber, were going to buy it below cost--great quantities of it--to buy it secretly, in many places, under many names, at half the normal price; they would sell it later at or above normal. Then at last Crosman looked at Halloran and grinned--broadly, happily. And Halloran said to himself again: “What a fool! _Oh_, what a fool!” There was much to be done that day. Crosman must have full instructions for prompt action; the moment Halloran's message should come up from Chicago he must cross the lake to Milwaukee, and from there command the Wisconsin shore. Halloran himself would set the Chicago end of the line in motion. Scattered here and there around the lake were men who had occasionally handled business for Higginson & Company. These were to be retained, wherever possible, and set to buying in Trust lumber. Everything must be done secretly; every opportunity must be seized. There would be storage to arrange for in a dozen cities, and insurance; there were a score and odd contingencies to be foreseen and provided against, a maximum price to be agreed on for each necessary step. But the figuring and the talking had an end; and when Halloran finally jumped on the night train and was rolled off toward Chicago he felt that Bigelow's flank was as good as turned. There was one bank in Chicago with which Mr. Higginson had been doing business for twenty years. Thither Halloran went, shook hands with the cashier and laid bare the situation. The cashier already knew a good deal about the fight, and was interested to fill up the gaps in his information. “What is it you plan to do, Mr. Halloran?” he asked when they had talked over the situation. “We are going to buy lumber.” The cashier inclined his head to show that he understood perfectly.