Adventure Magazine Cover, April 1916 — page 104: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

102 some who will not reject golden advice. Not every friend of mine puts on the chain- lock when opportunity gets in its proverbial once-in-a-lifetime knock.”’ “All right,’ smiled Mrs. Buckmuller. “But don’t get any one in who can’t afford it, Jake.”’ IT WAS rather early for the club. Some few bachelor friends of Jake’s ~“@ were finishing their dinner in the dining-room, and they hailed Buckmuller and pressed him to take a class of wine. ‘“‘A friend of mine,”’ said Jake as he held up the glass and watched the bubbles stream up; ‘‘a friend of mine passed me the whisper on an excellent thing today. Per- haps you boys would like to get in on it, eh, what?” “Get in on what?” asked Dick Vander- lening, the lawyer. “Consolidated Copper” answered Mr. Buckmuller. “Oh, pshaw! There’s nothing doing in stocks,” Vanderlening declared. “Well bo, press this against your ear and let it soak in,’ Jake said impressively. “‘There’ll be a thing or two doing within a very short time. ‘C.C.’ will be over par like a dot over a little ‘il’ as sure as you sit where you sit.” “But—aw why?” broke in Gil Hoskins, New York agent for a London shipping firm. ‘“There’s no business going, old top. Why should such a rise in the value of this particular security occur? It’s quite irregu- lar, you know.” ‘‘Listen!”’ Jake said, lowering his tone and leaning forward. ‘‘This is copper. Get me—copper! Indispensable in manufacture of war munitions. They’ve got to have it. Big interests realize the situation. Why a friend of mine—one of the biggest operators in the street—gave an order for five million dollars’ worth this afternoon. Get that? Five million, and he talked as if it was a mere collar-button. You fellows can do as you please, but I’m pushing all my blue chips into the pot.” The men ’round the table leaned forward, deeply interested. “This is straight, Jake? You’ve got it right?’ WVanderlening asked. “Right? You betcha it’s right!’ Jake as- sured them. ‘“‘You don’t think I put any dream stuff across on regular fellows, do youe”’ Adventure The evening visitors were beginning to arrive and Jake picked out those he knew well as they entered, whispering to each his important information. Before he left for home the clubrooms were buzzing with speculation and comment on the projected drive in “C.C.” Early the following morning Mr. Buck- muller entered the office of Ransom & Flake, bankers and brokers. ‘He drew a check for $500 from his pocket and handed it over to Mr. Flake. ‘““How much Consolidated Copper will that buy?” he asked. “‘Let’s see,” said Mr. Flake, adjusting his eye-glasses. “‘We would have to have a twenty-point margin—you might as well buy outright, I presume.”’ ‘‘What I want to do,” said Jake, ‘“‘is to put that five hundred plunks down on Con- solidated Copper, straight and place, at top odds.” ‘‘We can buy twenty shares and credit you with eighty dollars,” said Mr. Flake, as he pressed the button for the cashier. ‘All right—let her slide at that,” agreed Mr. Buckmuller. ‘‘When she reaches the century mark, I’ll tell you what to do next.” Harold Armitage, junior member of the breakfast-food firm, looked up as Buck- muller swung into his office. “Morning, Jake,” he saluted. ‘‘Why the particularly sunny smile? You look like you had a good bet down on something.” “Clairvoyant stuff,” answered Jake. “Very good, Eddie. Now, tell these ladies and gentlemen what the good bet is.”’ “Test is too severe, Jake. What is it?” “Well,” said Jake, as he picked up his morning mail, “‘it’s the best little chance to make a million that’s come whooping this way in a long, long time. I’ve been buying a little block of Consolidated Copper.”’ “Buying stock? Why, Jake, you’re crazy!” “‘Nix on the paper-doll stuff. Look here, Harold, what would you think if you heard a stout, millionairish sort of a person calmly announcing that he’d take five million in a certain security, eh, what?” ‘““What would I think?” ‘Poll-parrot business, eh. Nobody home| but the door-mat, and that’s on the way out. Hic, haec, hoc—particularly hick.” _ “Meaning that ’m a 2 “ '“Righto. American genus. Hard, bony shell, almost impenetrable, and that sort of CoOMmicboooks (CO