第5章

"IhavecometothinkthatitmightbewellwerewomentaughttheelementsofinvestingastheyarenowtaughtFrenchandMusic。IwouldnothavetheFrenchandMusicdropped，butIwouldaddtheother。ItmightbemoreofaprotectiontowomenthanbeingabletoreadaFrenchnovel，andperhapssomedayweshallhaveitso。ButofcourseithadbeenlefttotallyoutofEthel\'seducation；andatfirstshemerelyreceivedmyinstructionandtookmyopinions。Itwasnotlong，however，beforeshebegantoentertainsomeofherown，obligingmenotinfrequentlytoreasonwithher。Iverywellrememberthefirstoccasionthatthishappened。"

"Wehadbeenasusualtalkingaboutstocks，aswewalkedontheRiversideDriveonaSundayafternooninMay。Ethelhadbeenforsomemomentssilent。\'Richard，\'shefinallybegan，\'ifIhadhadthenamingofthesethings，Ishouldneverhavecalledthemsecurities。Insecuritiescomesagreatdealnearerwhattheyare。Whatrighthasathingthatsaysonitsfaceitisworthathousanddollarstogobobbingupanddowninthewaymostofthemdo？Ithinkthatsecuritiesisalmostsarcastic。AndhaveyounoticedthepriceofthosePetunias？\'"

"Ihad，ofcourse，noticedit；butIhadnotmentionedittoEthel。\'I

readthepapersnow，\'sheexplained，\'morningandevening。Ofcoursethemarketisoffalittleonaccountofthebankstatement。ButthatisnotenoughtoaccountforthePetunias。\'"

"\'Ethel，youarenervous，\'Isaid。\'Anditisthepaperswhichmakeyouso。ThePetuniasareafirstlienonthewholeproperty，ofwhichtheassessedvaluation\'"

"\'Whatisthegood，\'sheinterrupted，\'ofafirstlienonsomethingwhichdependsonpoliticsforitsexistence，ifthepoliticianschangetheirminds？Didyounotseethatbillthey\'rethinkingofpassing？\'IwasstartledbywhatEtheltoldme，forthearticleinthepaperhadescapedmynotice。ButMr。Beverlyexplainedittomeinacoupleofminutes。

\'Ha！\'hejoviallyexclaimed，onmyenteringhisofficeonMondaymorning；

\'youwanttoknowaboutPetunias。Theyopenedat85Isee。\'Hethenranthetapefromthetickerthroughhiscleanstronghands。\'Heretheyareagain。Fivethousandsoldat83。Now，iftheygoto70，I\'llverylikelytaketenthousandmoreformother。It\'sallFrankSmith\'sbluff，youknow。Hewantsajagofthewater-worksstock，morethantheysaytheyagreedheshouldhave。Sohe\'sshakingthisbilloverthem，whichwouldallowthecitytobuilditsownwater-plant，andofcourserunthepresentcompanyoutofbusiness。Notathinginit！Allbluff。He\'llgetthestock，Isuppose。What\'sthat？\'hebrokeofftoaclerkwhocamewithamessage。\'Wants500preferreddoeshe？Buyer30？Verywell，hecan\'thaveit。Saysofromme。Now，\'heresumedtome，\'takeacigarbytheway。Anddon\'tbuyanymorePetuniasuntilItellyoutherightmoment。

DoyouseewhereyourAmalgamatedElectrichasgoneto？\'"

"Ihadseenthis。Ithadscoreda20-pointrisesincemypurchaseofit；

andIfeltverysorrythatIhadnottakenMr。Beverly\'sadviceandboughtathousandshares。IthadbeenonadaywhenIhadfeltunaccountablycautious，andIhadtakenonlytwohundredandfiftysharesofAmalgamatedElectric。Therearedayswhenoneiscautiousanddayswhenoneisventuresome；andtheyseemtohavenothingtodowithresults。"

"\'They\'regoingtoincreasethedividend，\'saidMr。Beverly，asIsmokedhisexcellentcigar。\'It\'sgoodfortwentypointshigherbytheendoftheweek。Ihadjustgotmotherafewmoreshares。\'"

"IleftMr。Beverly\'sofficethepossessoroftwothousandsharesofAmalgamatedElectric，andalsoentirelyreassuredaboutmyPetunias。Healwaysmademefeelhappy。"

"Hiskeenlaughingbrowneyes，andcrispwell-brushedhair，andbigsomewhatEnglishwayofchaffing（hehadgonetoOxford，wherehehadrowedonawinningcrew）carriedasenseofbuoyantprosperitythatwentwithhiswiryfigureandgoodsmartLondonclothes。HisfacewasalmostastawnyasanIndian\'swiththeoutdoorlifethathetookcaretolead。

Iwasalwaysflatteredwhenhecouldspareanytimetoclapmeontheshoulderandcrackajoke。"

"AmalgamatedElectrichadrisenfivemorepointsbeforetheboardclosedthatafternoon。ThiswasthefirstnewsthatItoldEthel。"

"\'Richard，\'saidshe，\'Iwishyouwouldsellthatstockto-morrow。\'"

"ButthisIsawnoreasonfor；andonTuesdayithadgainedsevenpointsfurther。Ethelstillmorestronglyurgedmetosellit。Imustfreelyadmitthat。"Andthenarratorpausedreflectively。

"Thankyou，Richard，"saidEthelfromthesofa。"AndIadmitthatIcouldgiveyounoreasonformyrequest，exceptthatitallseemedsosudden。

Andyestherewasoneotherthing。Butthatwasevenmoresilly。"

"IbelieveIknowwhatyoumean，"repliedRichard，"andIshallcometoitpresently。Ifanyonewassilly，itwasnotyou。"

"IdidnotsellAmalgamatedElectriconWednesday，andonThursdayadoubtabouttheincreaseddividendbegantobecirculated。Thestock，nevertheless，afteraforenoonofweakness，rallied。MoreoveracheckformyfirstdividendcamefromthePollyopolisHeat，Light，Power，Paving，Pressing，andPackingCompany。"

"\'Whatanumberofthingsitdoes！\'exclaimedEthel，whenIshowedherthecompany\'scheck。"

"\'Yes，\'Ireplied，andquotedBrowningtoher:\'\'Twenty-nineDistinctdamnations。Onesureiftheotherfails。\'Beverly\'smotherhasalotofit。\'"

"ButEtheldidnotsmile。\'Richard，\'shesaid，\'Idowishyouhadmoreinvestmentswithordinarysimplenames，likeNewYorkandNewHaven，orChicagoandNorthwestern。\'AndwhenItoldherthatIthoughtthiswasreallyunreasonable，shewasfirm。\'Yes，\'shereplied，\'Idon\'tlikethenamesnotmostofthem，atleast。DutchessandColumbiaTractionsoundsprettywell；andbesidesthat，ofcourseoneknowshowsuccessfultheseelectricrailwaysare。ButtaketheStandardEggTrust，andthePatentPasteurisedInfantRubberFeederCompany。\'"

"\'Why，Ethel！\'Iexclaimed，\'thosearebothbasedupongreatinventions，Mr。Beverly\'"

"Butsheinterruptedmeearnestly\'Iknowaboutthoseinventions，Richard，forIhaveprocuredtheprospectuses。AndIwishthatIcouldhavetoldyoumyownfeelingaboutthembeforeyouboughtanyofthestock。\'"

"\'Idonotthinkyoucanfullyhavetakenitin，Ethel。\'"

"\'Itrustthatitmaynothavefullytakenyouin，\'shereplied。\'Haveyounoticedwhatthosestocksaresellingforatpresent？\'"

"OfcourseIhadnoticedthis。Ihadpaid63forStandardEgg，anditwasnow48，while11wasthepriceofPatentPasteurizedFeeder，forwhichI

hadpaid20。Butthis，Mr。Beverlyassuredme，wasanormalandevenhealthycourseforanewstock。\'Hadtheygoneuptoosoonandtoohigh，\'

heexplained，\'Ishouldhavesuspectedsomecrookedmanipulationandadvisedsellingatonce。Butthisindicatesahealthyabsorptionpreliminarytoanaturalrise。Ishouldnotdreamoflettingmotherpartwithhers。\'"