“Steady, steady does it, J. ,” warned the broker, his hand upon his shoulder, “we got to keep a grip on ourselves today. We’ve got a lot to think of. We’ll think about Charlie, later. Just now⁠ ⁠… well it’s business now. Mathewson & Knight have called on us for margins⁠—twenty thousand dollars.”

He laid the slip down in front of Jadwin, as he sat at his desk.

“Oh, this can wait?” exclaimed Jadwin. “Let it go till this afternoon. I can’t talk business now. Think of Carrie⁠— Mrs. Cressler, I⁠—”

“No,” answered Gretry, reflectively and slowly, looking anywhere but in Jadwin’s face. “N⁠—no, I don’t think we’d better wait. I think we’d better meet these margin calls promptly. It’s always better to keep our trades margined up.”

Jadwin faced around.