The Malefactor

by E. Phillips Oppenheim

  "DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST"

  Wingrave and Aynesworth were alone in a private room of the WaldorfAstoria Hotel. The table at which the former was seated was covered withletters and papers. A New York directory and an atlas were at his elbow.

  "I propose," Wingrave said, leaning back in his chair, "to give yousome idea of the nature of my business in this country. You will be ablethen, I trust, to carry out my instructions more intelligibly."

  Aynesworth nodded.

  "I thought," he said, "that you came here simply to remain in seclusionfor a time."

  "That is one of my reasons," Wingrave admitted, "but I had a specialpurpose in coming to America. During my--enforced seclusion--I made theacquaintance of a man called Hardwell. He was an Englishman, but hehad lived in America for some years, and had got into trouble oversome company business. We had some conversation, and it is upon hisinformation that I am now going to act."

  "He is trustworthy?" Aynesworth asked.

  "I take the risk," Wingrave answered coolly. "There is a small coppermine in Utah called the Royal Hardwell Copper Mine. The shares arehundred dollar ones, and there are ten thousand of them. They arescarcely quoted now, as the mine has become utterly discredited.Hardwell managed this himself with a false report. He meant to have thecompany go into liquidation, and then buy it for a very small amount.As a matter of fact, the mine is good, and could be worked at a largeprofit."

  "You have Hardwell's word for that," Aynesworth remarked.

  "Exactly!" Wingrave remarked. "I am proceeding on the assumption that hetold me the truth. I wish to buy, if possible, the whole of the shares,and as many more as I can get brokers to sell. The price of the sharestoday is two dollars!"

  "I presume you will send out an expert to the mine first?" Aynesworthsaid.

  "I shall do nothing of the sort," Wingrave answered. "The fact that Iwas buying upon information would send the shares up at once. I meanto buy first, and then go out to the mine. If I have made a mistake, Ishall not be ruined. If Hardwell's story is true, there will be millionsin it."

  Aynesworth said nothing, but his face expressed a good deal.

  "Here are the names of seven respectable brokers," Wingrave continued,passing a sheet of paper towards him. "I want you to buy five hundredshares from each of them. The price may vary a few points. Whatever itis, pay it. Here are seven signed checks. I shall buy myself as many asI can without spoiling the market. You had better start out in about aquarter of an hour and see to this. You have my private ledger?"

  "Yes."

  "Open an account to Hardwell in it; a quarter of all the shares Ibuy are to be in his name, and a quarter of all the profits I make indealing in the shares is to be credited to him."

  "A fairly generous arrangement for Mr. Hardwell," Aynesworth remarked.

  "There is nothing generous about it," Wingrave answered coldly. "It isthe arrangement I made with him, and to which I propose to adhere. Youunderstand what I want you to do?"

  "Perfectly," Aynesworth answered; "I still think, however, that much thewiser course would be to send an expert to the mine first."

  "Indeed!" Wingrave remarked politely. "That is all, I think. I shallexpect to see you at luncheon time. If you are asked questions as to whyyou are dealing in these shares to such an extent, you can say that thefriend for whom you are acting desires to boom copper, and is going onthe low price of the metal at the moment. They will think you a fool,and perhaps may not trouble to conceal their opinion after they havefinished the business. You must endeavor to support the character. Ihave no doubt but that you will be successful."

  Aynesworth moved towards the door.

  Once more Wingrave called him back. He was leaning a little forwardacross the table. His face was very set and cold.

  "There is a question which I wish to ask you, Aynesworth," he said. "Itconcerns another matter altogether. Do you know who sent the Marconigramto Dr. Travers, which brought him to New York to meet his wife?"

  "I do not," Aynesworth answered.

  "It was sent by someone on board the ship," Wingrave continued. "Youhave no suspicion as to whom it could have been?"

  "None!" Aynesworth answered firmly. "At the same time, I do not mindtelling you this. If I had thought of it, I would have sent it myself."

  Wingrave shrugged his shoulders.

  "It is perhaps fortunate for the continuation of our mutual relationsthat you did not think of it," he remarked quietly. "I accept yourdenial. I shall expect you back at one o'clock."

  At a few minutes after that hour the two men sat down to luncheon.Wingrave at that time was the possessor of six thousand shares in theRoyal Hardwell Copper Mine, which had cost him, on an average, twodollars twenty-five. The news of the dealing, however, had got about,and although derision was the chief sentiment amongst the brokers, theprice steadily mounted. A dozen telegrams were sent out to the mine, andon receipt of the replies, the dealing became the joke of the day. Themine was still deserted, and no fresh inspection had been made.The price dropped a little. Then Wingrave bought a thousand more bytelephone, and it rose again to four. A few minutes before closing time,he threw every share of which he was possessed upon the market, and thenext morning Royal Hardwells stood at one dollar seventy-five.

  For a week Wingrave pursued the same tactics, and at the end of thattime he had made twenty thousand dollars. The brokers, however, nowunderstood, or thought they understood, the situation. No one bought forthe rise; they were all sellers. Wingrave at once changed his tactics.He bought five thousand shares in one block, and sold none. Even then,the market was only mildly amused. In a fortnight he was the nominalowner of sixteen thousand shares in a company of which only ten thousandactually existed. Then he sat still, and the panic began. The sharesin a company which everyone believed to be worthless stood at thirtydollars, and not a share was offered.

  A small pandemonium reigned in Wingrave's sitting room. The telephonerang all the time; the place was besieged with brokers. Then Wingraveshowed his hand. He had bought these shares to hold; he did not intendto sell one. As to the six thousand owed to him beyond the numberissued, he was prepared to consider offers. One broker left him a checkfor twenty thousand dollars, another for nearly forty thousand. Wingravehad no pity. He had gambled and won. He would accept nothing lessthan par price. The air in his sitting room grew thick with curses andtobacco smoke.

  Aynesworth began by hating the whole business, but insensibly thefascination of it crept over him. He grew used to hearing the variousforms of protest, of argument and abuse, which one and all left Wingraveso unmoved. Sphinx-like he lounged in his chair, and listened to all.He never condescended to justify his position, he never met argumentby argument. He had the air of being thoroughly bored by the wholeproceedings. But he exacted always his pound of flesh.

  On the third afternoon, Aynesworth met on the stairs a young broker,whom he had come across once or twice during his earlier dealings in theshares. They had had lunch together, and Aynesworth had taken a fancy tothe boy--he was little more--fresh from Harvard and full of enthusiasm.He scarcely recognized him for a moment. The fresh color had gone fromhis cheeks, his eyes were set in a fixed, wild stare; he seemed suddenlyaged. Aynesworth stopped him.

  "Hullo, Nesbitt!" he exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

  The young man would have passed on with a muttered greeting, butAynesworth turned round with him, and led the way into one of thesmaller smoking rooms. He called for drinks and repeated his question.

  "Your governor has me six hundred Hardwells short," Nesbitt answeredcurtly.

  "Six hundred! What does it mean?" Aynesworth asked.

  "Sixty thousand dollars, or thereabouts," the young man answereddespairingly. "His brokers won't listen to me, and your governor--well,I've just been to see him. I won't call him names! And we thought thatsome fool of an Englishman was burning his fingers with those shares.I'm not the only one caught, but the others can stand it. I can't, worseluck!"

  "I'm beastly sorry
," Aynesworth said truthfully. "I wish I could helpyou."

  Nesbitt raised his head. A sudden light flashed in his eyes; he spokequickly, almost feverishly.

  "Say, Aynesworth," he exclaimed, "do you think you could do anythingwith your governor for me? You see--it's ruin if I have to pay up. Iwouldn't mind--for myself, but I was married four months ago, and Ican't bear the thought of going home--and telling her. All the moneywe have between us is in my business, and we've got no rich friendsor anything of that sort. I don't know what I'll do if I have to behammered. I've been so careful, too! I didn't want to take this on, butit seemed such a soft thing! If I could get off with twenty thousand,I'd keep my head up. I hate to talk like this. I'd go down like a manif I were alone, but--but--oh! Confound it all--!" he exclaimed with anominous break in his tone.

  Aynesworth laid his hand upon the boy's arm.

  "Look here," he said, "I'll try what I can do with Mr. Wingrave. Waithere!"

  Aynesworth found his employer alone with his broker, who was justhastening off to keep an appointment. He plunged at once into hisappeal.

  "Mr. Wingrave," he said, "you have just had a young broker named Nesbitton."

  Wingrave glanced at a paper by his side.

  "Yes," he said. "Six hundred short! I wish they wouldn't come to me."

  "I've been talking to him downstairs," Aynesworth said. "This will breakhim."

  "Then I ought not to have done business with him at all," Wingrave saidcoolly. "If he cannot find sixty thousand dollars, he has no right tobe in Wall street. I daresay he'll pay, though! They all pleadpoverty--curs!"

  "I think Nesbitt's case is a little different from the others,"Aynesworth continued. "He is quite young, little more than a boy, and hehas only just started in business. To be hammered would be absoluteruin for him. He seems such a decent young fellow, and he's only justmarried. He's in an awful state downstairs. I wish you'd have anothertalk with him. I think you'd feel inclined to let him down easy."

  Wingrave smiled coldly.

  "My dear Aynesworth," he said, "you astonish me. I am not interestedin this young man's future or in his matrimonial arrangements. He hasgambled with me and lost. I presume that he would have taken my moneyif I had been the fool they all thought me. As it is, I mean to havehis--down to the last cent!"

  "He isn't like the others," Aynesworth protested doggedly. "He's onlya boy--and it seems such jolly hard luck, doesn't it, only four monthsmarried! New York hasn't much pity for paupers. He looks mad enough toblow his brains out. Have him up, sir, and see if you can't compromise!"

  "Fetch him," Wingrave said curtly.

  Aynesworth hurried downstairs. The boy was walking restlessly up anddown the room. The look he turned upon Aynesworth was almost pitiful.

  "He'll see you again," Aynesworth said hurriedly. "Come along."

  The boy wrung his hand.

  "You're a brick!" he declared.