“I say, sit down. Have a chair. I want to have a talk with you. You ran a corner in wheat once yourself.”

“Oh.⁠ ⁠… Wheat.”

“Yes, your corner. You remember?”

“Yes. Oh, that was long ago. In seventy-eight it was⁠—the September option. And the Board made wheat in the cars ‘regular.’ ”

His voice trailed off into silence, and he looked vaguely about on the floor of the room, sucking in his cheeks, and passing the edge of one large, osseous hand across his lips.

“Well, you lost all your money that time, I believe. Scannel, your partner, sold out on you.”

“Hey? It was in seventy-eight.⁠ ⁠… The secretary of the Board announced our suspension at ten in the morning. If the Board had not voted to make wheat in the cars regular⁠—”