As it was he was constantly watching the certificates of loan issue, for the city treasury,--buying large quantities when the market was falling to protect it and selling heavily, though cautiously, when he saw it rising and to do this he had to have a great deal of free money to permit him to do it.

He was constantly fearful of some break in the market which would affect the value of all his securities and result in the calling of his loans.
There was no storm in sight.

He did not see that anything could happen in reason; but he did not want to spread himself out too thin.

As he saw it now, therefore if he took one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of this city money and went after this Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street matter it would not mean that he was spreading himself out too thin, for because of this new proposition could he not call on Stener for more as a loan in connection with these other ventures?
But if anything should happen--well-- "Frank," said Stener, strolling into his office one afternoon after four o'clock when the main rush of the day's work was over--the relationship between Cowperwood and Stener had long since reached the "Frank" and "George" period--"Strobik thinks he has that North Pennsylvania deal arranged so that we can take it up if we want to.

The principal stockholder, we find, is a man by the name of Coltan--not Ike Colton, but Ferdinand.