CHAPTER XII.
A CORNER IN DIAMONDS.
John Girdlestone propounded his intention with such dignity and emphasis that he evidently expected the announcement to come as a surprise upon his son.

If so, he was not disappointed, for the young man stared open-eyed.
"A corner in diamonds!" he repeated.

"How will you do that ?" "You know what a corner is," his father explained.

"If you buy up all the cotton, say, or sugar in the market, so as to have the whole of it in your own hands, and to be able to put your own price on it in selling it again--that is called making a corner in sugar or cotton.

I intend to make a corner in diamonds." "Of course, I know what a corner is," Ezra said impatiently.