bank was one of the first to profit by this and to extend him loans.  The various local politicians and bosses—­Mollenhauer, Butler, Simpson, and others—­seeing the success of his efforts in this direction, speculated in city loan.  He became known to Mollenhauer and Simpson, by reputation, if not personally, as the man who was carrying this city loan proposition to a successful issue.  Stener was supposed to have done a clever thing in finding him.  The stock exchange stipulated that all trades were to be compared the same day and settled before the close of the next; but this working arrangement with the new city treasurer gave Cowperwood much more latitude, and now he had always until the first of the month, or practically thirty days at times, in which to render an accounting for all deals connected with the loan issue.

And, moreover, this was really not an accounting in the sense of removing anything from his hands.  Since the issue was to be so large, the sum at his disposal would always be large, and so-called transfers and balancing at the end of the month would be a mere matter of bookkeeping.  He could use these city loan certificates deposited with him for manipulative purposes, deposit them at any bank as collateral for a loan, quite as if they were his own, thus raising seventy per cent. of their actual value in cash, and he did not hesitate to do so.  He could take this cash, which need not be accounted for until the end of the month, and cover other stock transactions, on which he could borrow again.  There was no limit to the resources of which he now found himself possessed, except the resources of his own energy, ingenuity, and the limits of time in which he had to work.  The politicians did not realize what a bonanza he was making of it all for himself, because they were as yet unaware of the subtlety of his mind.  When Stener told him, after talking the matter over with the mayor, Strobik, and others that he would formally, during the course of the year, set over on the city’s books all of the two millions in city loan, Cowperwood was silent—­but with delight.  Two millions!  His to play with!  He had been called in as a financial adviser, and he had given his advice and it had been taken!  Well.  He was not a man who inherently was troubled with conscientious scruples.  At the same time he still believed himself financially honest.  He was no sharper or shrewder than any other financier—­certainly no sharper than any other would be if he could.

It should be noted here that this proposition of Stener’s in regard to city money had no connection with the attitude of the principal leaders in local politics in regard to street-railway control, which was a new and intriguing phase of the city’s financial life.  Many of the leading financiers and financier-politicians were interested in that.  For instance, Messrs. Mollenhauer, Butler, and Simpson were interested in street-railways separately on their own account.