"How can I? The law would hold me at fault if I should allow the bank to close to-day with that loan unsecured. I have no right to give you time."
"You are persecuting me!"
"No, I am not. If I were minded to do that, I should call the loan in at once. As it is, I only ask you--as I must--to secure it as the law requires. I will accept any fairly good collateral you may have to offer. There is surely no hardship in that--no persecution in demanding that you shall temporarily leave with the bank enough of the bonds or stock certificates that you hold in plenty, to comply with the law concerning loans by national banks. I have simply no choice but to insist upon that."
"But I tell you," answered Tandy, "that at present I have no bonds or stocks conveniently available for such a purpose."
"I will accept your insurance stock."
"I"ve parted with that."
"Well, as I certainly have no disposition to be hard upon you, I"ll accept your stock in the Atlantic and Mississippi Steamship Company, or even your Mississippi Valley Transportation Company stock, though neither can be reckoned a first-cla.s.s security."
"I"ve sold out of both companies," answered Tandy.
By this time Duncan began to wonder what had happened to Tandy, in a financial way, just as Hallam had done.
"Wonder where he has been putting his money," he thought. "For surely he had plenty of it a little while ago. He"s been buying property along the new railroad, but that isn"t sufficient to tie up a man of Tandy"s wealth. Something must be the matter. I must be cautious."
"I"ll put up a hundred thousand in Memphis and Ohio River stock----"
began Tandy.
"You know I can"t consider that," said Duncan; "no sane banker could.
But if you choose, the bank will accept stock in your coal mine--reckoned at fifty cents on the dollar--as security."
"That"s out of the question. I"m negotiating a sale of my interests there, and it would embarra.s.s me to have the stock hypothecated just now."
"Very well, then. What do you propose to do? Of course you have a large block of stock in this bank. Why not put that up as security, and give yourself all the time you need? Or if you don"t want to hypothecate the stock with this bank, you can arrange a loan on it with Stafford or Hallam."
Tandy hesitated for a time before answering. At last he said:
"I"ve only thirty-three shares left. Why shouldn"t the bank buy it outright, putting the loan in as a princ.i.p.al part of the purchase money?"
"At what price will you sell?"
"At 103. It"s worth that and more."
"I"ll consider the offer. Come back in an hour for your answer."
Duncan sent at once for Hallam and Stafford, as the princ.i.p.al stockholders in the bank, other than Tandy, and told them all that had happened. They advised the purchase, but suggested 102 as the price, and an hour later Napper Tandy ceased to be a stockholder in the X National Bank.
A day or two later Stafford learned that by this sale of his bank stock, Tandy had practically parted with the last investment he had in any Cairo enterprise.
He greatly wondered at that, and as he sat with Duncan and Hallam in Hallam"s parlor that night, the three indulged in many conjectures concerning Tandy and his plans. The only conclusion they arrived at was expressed by Captain Will:
"He"s up to mischief of some sort. We must watch him."
x.x.xI
ONLY A WOMAN
In accordance with his custom, Duncan told Barbara the whole story of the bank"s dealings with Tandy, and explained to her his reasons for suspecting, as Captain Hallam had said, that Tandy was "up to mischief"
of some kind and needed close watching.
"Perhaps he has lost money heavily," suggested Barbara, "and is struggling to keep his head above water."
"That is extremely unlikely," answered Duncan, "particularly as his standing at Bradstreet"s is unimpaired. I asked Bradstreet"s yesterday for a special report on him, and they gave him four A"s. That means that he has ample capital and abundant resources somewhere within the knowledge of Bradstreet"s agents. I imagine that he is going quietly into some big enterprise, and has so far invested his capital in it that he was sorely embarra.s.sed for ready money when suddenly called upon to raise it. I would give a tidy little sum to find out what he is up to."
But neither Duncan nor Hallam was destined to make that discovery as yet. Soon after the bank matter was settled, Tandy seemed quite at ease again financially. He resumed his purchases of property along the line of the proposed railway, but only along the eastern half of it. He bought none in Cairo or within fifty miles of that city.
Two months later, after Duncan"s campaign was over, and the elections had been held, he and Barbara came back to the subject. Duncan told Barbara of the queer provision that Tandy had persuaded the authorities of two counties to put into their bond appropriation, and expressed his curiosity to know the motive.
"He didn"t do that thing just for fun, Guilford," the girl said, after she had thought the matter over for twenty-four hours. "He has some interest to serve."
"Of course. I"m very sure of that."
"We must find out what it is," said the girl, whose apprehension was strongly aroused.
"But how, Barbara?"
"I don"t know how, at present, but I"m trying to find out a way. I don"t know enough about the facts as yet to make a good guess. You must tell me some things."
"Anything you like."
"Is there any other railroad that might be injured by this one? Any road, I mean, that he might be interested in enough to make him want this project defeated?"
"No, certainly not. On the contrary, he has a tremendous interest in the building of our road. Of course his interests here in Cairo are comparatively small, now that he is out of the bank, but as you know, he has been buying property very heavily along our proposed line. Of course, when the road is finished the towns along the line will grow, and property there will go up. In view of that, he has been buying lots, houses, and business buildings at all the places where princ.i.p.al stations are likely to be located."
It was two or three days later when Barbara returned to the subject by a somewhat indirect route.
"Tell me about Paducah, Guilford," she said to him suddenly.
He laughingly answered:
"Paducah is a thriving town in northwestern Kentucky. It lies on the Ohio River about fifty miles above the mouth of that stream. It has a small but ambitious population, and is a considerable market for the sale of tobacco. That"s about all I remember of what the gazeteer says about the interesting burg."
"And you know that isn"t what I want you to tell me. Are there any railroads there?"
"One small one, running from the south, ends there, I believe, and the Paducah people are trying to induce the company which is building the Memphis and Ohio River Railroad to make its northern terminus there instead of at Cairo. They are trying, too, to get a bridge built across the Ohio at that point. They are unlikely to succeed in either project, for the reason that they have no railroad connection north or east.
Railroads from the south running into Paducah would find no outlet except by the river."
Barbara was silent for some time. Then she asked: "Is Mr. Tandy interested in any business at Paducah?"
"I really don"t know. He"s in all sorts of things, you know. But why do you ask?"