"In their numbered order," announced Mr. Wallingford calmly, "from returned loans. When bond number one, for instance, is fully paid up, its face value will be two hundred and fifty dollars. If there is two hundred and fifty dollars in the redemption fund at that time--which the company, upon the face of the bonds, definitely refuses to guarantee, not being responsible for the honesty of its bond-holders--bond number one gets paid; if not, bond number one waits until sufficient money has been returned to the fund, and number two--or number five, say, if two, three and four have lapsed--waits its redemption until number one has been paid." A long and simultaneous sigh from five breasts attested the appreciation of his auditors for Mr. Wallingford's beautiful plan of operation. "No," announced Mr. Squinch, placing his finger-tips ecstatically together, "your plan is not a lottery." "Not by any means," agreed Doc Turner, rubbing his palms. Jim Christmas, who never committed himself orally if he could help it, now chuckled thickly in his throat, and the scarlet network upon his face turned crimson. "I think, Mr. Wallingford," said Mr. Squinch, "I think that we will accept your offer of two shares of stock each for our list." Mr. Wallingford, having succeeded in giving these gentlemen a grasping personal interest in his profits, diplomatically withheld his smile for a private moment, and, turning over to each of the five gentlemen two shares of his own stock in the company, accepted the list. Afterward, in entering the item in his books, he purchased for the company, from himself, ten shares of stock for one thousand dollars, paying himself the cash, and charged the issue of stock to the expense fund. Then he sat back and waited for the next move. It could not but strike such closely calculating gentlemen as the new members that here was a concern in which they ought to have more than a paltry two shares each of stock. Each gentleman, exercising his rights as a stock-holder, had insisted on poring carefully over the constitution and by-laws, the charter, the "bonds," and all the other forms and papers. Each, again in his capacity of stock-holder, had kept careful track of the progress of the business, of the agents that were presently put out, and of the long list of names rapidly piling up in the card-index; and each made hints to J. Rufus about the purchase of additional stock, becoming regretful, however, when they found that the shares were held strictly at par. In this triumphant period Wallingford was aggravatingly jovial, even exasperating, in the crowing tone he took. "How are we getting along? Fine!" he declared to each stock-holder in turn. "Inside of six months we'll have a membership of ten thousand!" And they were forced to believe him. Probably none of the ex-members of the defunct loan association was so annoyed over the condition of affairs as Ebenezer Squinch, nor so nervously interested.