At times it exasperated him that he could not regard his
change of front as a deliberate sale for value received, and not as the
weak and cowardly surrender which he saw that it really was.
* * * * *
On the day after Howard's forty-fourth birthday Coulter fell dead at the
entrance to the Union Club. When Stokely heard of it he went direct to the
_News-Record_ office.
"I happen to know something about Coulter's will," he said to Howard. "The
_News-Record_ stock is to be sold and you and I are to have the first
chance to take it at three hundred and fifty--which is certainly cheap
enough."
"Why did he arrange to dispose of the most valuable part of his estate?"
"Well, we had an agreement about it. Then, too, Coulter had no faith in
newspapers as a permanent investment. You know there are only the widow,
the girl and that worthless boy. Heavens, what an ass that boy is! Coulter
has tied up his estate until the youngest grandchild comes of age. He hopes
that there will be a son among the grandchildren who will realise his
dream."
"Dream?" Howard smiled. "I didn't know that Coulter ever indulged in
dreams."
"Yes, he had the rich man's mania--the craze for founding a family. So
everything is to be put into real estate and long-term bonds.
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