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a thick, squat nose, which, however, was forceful, and thin, firm, even lips. There was the
faintest touch of cynical humor in his hard blue eyes at times; but mostly he was friendly, alert,
placid-looking, without seeming in the least sentimental or even kindly. His business, as one
could see plainly, was to insist on hard financial facts, and one could see also how he would
naturally be drawn to Frank Algernon Cowperwood without being mentally dominated or upset
by him. As he took the chair very quietly, and yet one might say significantly, it was obvious that
he felt that this sort of legal-financial palaver was above the average man and beneath the
dignity of a true financier-- in other words, a bother. The drowsy Sparkheaver holding up a Bible
beside him for him to swear by might as well have been a block of wood. His oath was a
personal matter with him. It was good business to tell the truth at times. His testimony was very
direct and very simple.
He had known Mr. Frank Algernon Cowperwood for nearly ten years. He had done business
with or through him nearly all of that time. He knew nothing of his personal relations with Mr.
Stener, and did not know Mr. Stener personally. As for the particular check of sixty thousand
dollars--yes, he had seen it before. It had come into the bank on October 10th along with other
collateral to offset an overdraft on the part of Cowperwood & Co. It was placed to the credit of
Cowperwood & Co. on the books of the bank, and the bank secured the cash through the
clearing-house. No money was drawn out of the bank by Cowperwood & Co. after that to create
an overdraft. The bank's account with Cowperwood was squared.
Nevertheless, Mr. Cowperwood might have drawn heavily, and nothing would have been
thought of it. Mr. Davison did not know that Mr. Cowperwood was going to fail--did not suppose
that he could, so quickly. He had frequently overdrawn his account with the bank; as a matter of
fact, it was the regular course of his business to overdraw it. It kept his assets actively in use,
which was the height of good business. His overdrafts were protected by collateral, however,
and it was his custom to send bundles of collateral or checks, or both, which were variously
distributed to keep things straight. Mr. Cowperwood's account was the largest and most active
in the bank, Mr. Davison kindly volunteered. When Mr. Cowperwood had failed there had been
over ninety thousand dollars' worth of certificates of city loan in the bank's possession which Mr
Cowperwood had sent there as collateral. Shannon, on cross-examination, tried to find out for
the sake of the effect on the jury, whether Mr. Davison was not for some ulterior motive
especially favorable to Cowperwood. It was not possible for him to do that. Steger followed, and
did his best to render the favorable points made by Mr. Davison in Cowperwood's behalf
perfectly clear to the jury by having him repeat them. Shannon objected, of course, but it was of
no use. Steger managed to make his point.
He now decided to have Cowperwood take the stand, and at the mention of his name in this
connection the whole courtroom bristled.
Cowperwood came forward briskly and quickly. He was so calm, so jaunty, so defiant of life, and
yet so courteous to it. These lawyers, this jury, this straw-and-water judge, these machinations
of fate, did not basically disturb or humble or weaken him. He saw through the mental
equipment of the jury at once. He wanted to assist his counsel in disturbing and confusing
Shannon, but his reason told him that only an indestructible fabric of fact or seeming would do
it. He believed in the financial rightness of the thing he had done. He was entitled to do it. Life
was war-- particularly financial life; and strategy was its keynote, its duty, its necessity. Why
should he bother about petty, picayune minds which could not understand this? He went over
his history for Steger and the jury, and put the sanest, most comfortable light on it that he could.
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