what that means to Mr. Stener and the Republican party and your interests in case I fail.  I don’t think Mr. Stener started this of his own accord in the first place—­I think I am as much to blame as anybody—­but it grew out of other things.  As you know, I handled that matter of city loan for him and then some of his friends wanted me to invest in street-railways for them.  I have been doing that ever since.  Personally I have borrowed considerable money from Mr. Stener at two per cent.  In fact, originally the transactions were covered in that way.  Now I don’t want to shift the blame on any one.  It comes back to me and I am willing to let it stay there, except that if I fail Mr. Stener will be blamed and that will reflect on the administration.  Naturally, I don’t want to fail.  There is no excuse for my doing so.  Aside from this panic I have never been in a better position in my life.  But I cannot weather this storm without assistance, and I want to know if you won’t help me.  If I pull through I will give you my word that I will see that the money which has been taken from the treasury is put back there.  Mr. Stener is out of town or I would have brought him here with me.”

Cowperwood was lying out of the whole cloth in regard to bringing Stener with him, and he had no intention of putting the money back in the city treasury except by degrees and in such manner as suited his convenience; but what he had said sounded well and created a great seeming of fairness.

“How much money is it Stener has invested with you?” asked Butler.  He was a little confused by this curious development.  It put Cowperwood and Stener in an odd light.

“About five hundred thousand dollars,” replied Cowperwood.

The old man straightened up.  “Is it as much as that?” he said.

“Just about—­a little more or a little less; I’m not sure which.”

The old contractor listened solemnly to all Cowperwood had to say on this score, thinking of the effect on the Republican party and his own contracting interests.  He liked Cowperwood, but this was a rough thing the latter was telling him—­rough, and a great deal to ask.  He was a slow-thinking and a slow-moving man, but he did well enough when he did think.  He had considerable money invested in Philadelphia street-railway stocks—­perhaps as much as eight hundred thousand dollars.  Mollenhauer had perhaps as much more.  Whether Senator Simpson had much or little he could not tell.  Cowperwood had told him in the past that he thought the Senator had a good deal.  Most of their holdings, as in the case of Cowperwood’s, were hypothecated at the various banks for loans and these loans invested in other ways.  It was not advisable or comfortable to have these loans called, though the condition of no one of the triumvirate was anything like as bad as that of Cowperwood.  They could see themselves through without much trouble, though not without probable loss unless they took hurried action to protect themselves.