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New York and the light manner in which the bank's paper was being treated and asked for an immediate explanation. Brander was called to account within an hour, and it was then that he made his confession. There had been a leak somewhere, however, and the news was all over the street that the Nevada bank had been pinched in wheat. When Brander had answered the long catechism that he was subjected to there was an appalling condition of affairs to confront. There was not money enough left in the bank for the transaction of ordinary business, and a closed door smash looked to be the next likely occurrence. Securities had been used as freely as money, and in this Brander overreached himself and became liable to criminal prosecution. In providing for his relatives Mr. Food had presented his sister, Mrs. Follis, with $600,000 worth of government bonds, which Mrs. Follis kept on deposit in the bank's strong box, only calling for them at coupon shearing time. They were made over to her absolutely, and were merely in the bank for safe-keeping. Neither Flood nor the bank had any right to use them for an instant, and yet Brander was so consumed with his idea of making his corner by sheer weight of money that when he could no longer draw on bank funds he hypothecated these bonds for nearly their face value. # Brander's Narrow Escape. When this bit of information reached him it nearly caused Flood's death. "I ought to kill you," he said to Brander, and there is little doubt that he would have carried his feelings into action if he had not been restrained by cooler heads. His friends coincided with him, but pointed out that he would necessarily be tied up in prison for a while, anyhow, and that he needed his liberty to save himself. The old man finally agreed to forego his vengeance if Brander was kept out of sight, and nothing would satisfy him but sending the wrecker out of the country. The question of prosecuting Brander for appropriating Mrs. Follis' bonds was discussed, but that step gave promise of precipitating trouble on the bank from the excited financial outside, and was temporarily abandoned. Flood, however, would not do a thing as long as Brander breathed the same air with himself, and a number of his friends went to Brander on the Sunday following the "black Friday" and hustled him out of town. Brander told them that he did not have a dollar and could not leave, willing as he was to get beyond the reach of Flood's vengeance. He had been puschasing the old Alex. McLane residence, on Harrison street, on the installment plan, and a consultation of Flood's friends finally resulted in their paying him what money he had already put up and giving him a liberal price for his furniture. Ex-Senator Fair was the purchaser of the furniture. With the money thus realized, amounting to $15,000, Brander gathered up his family and departed for Europe a few days later. He never stepped foot in the bank after his interview with Flood, and the only public appearance he made was in the office of the Anglo-American lusurance company, of which he was president, and which was controlled by the owners of the Nevada bank. # A Prospective Loss of Millions. Brander's confession showed that he had bought wheat with the bank's money until, if all the contracts were made good, and sales were forced at the low figure prevailing, the institution would lose nearly $17,000,000. Flood was bodily sick, and the condition of affairs he had to face nearly killed him. He could see nothing but a suspension in sight, and called in the late Hall McAllister to draw up the papers asking for the appointment of a receiver. McAllister complied, but before fiting the document the attorney took it to Thomas Brown, of the Bank of California, for discussion as to some of the details, this action being in accordance with Flood's request. Brown did not wait for McAllister to finish stating his errand before he broke out in a vehement protest. "For God's sake, McAllister," he exclaimed, "don't let Flood do this." In Brown's mind the move that Flood contemplated would have precipitated a panic that would have sent houses toppling in financial ruin. He begged McAllister to persuade Flood to take a little time to look around. McAllister returned to Flood, but the latter could see no light. The bank had closed business at noon on Saturday, the regular hour, with $368 as the total of cash on hand, and every scrap of negotiable paper that Brander dared touch had been burned up in the wheat pit along with the money. Even Miss Jennie Flood's securities had not been sacred to Brander, and they were gone with Mrs. Follis'. On top of this Mackay telegraphed from New York that he had discovered that no less than sixteen ships had been chartered there to load wheat at the bank's order. # The Bank of California Helped. "Three hundred and sixty-eight dollars," said Flood. "That's all I can see, and I've been looking around a good deal. You can tell Mr. Brown that there is nothing else to do but the course 1 have named." McAllister held another conference with Brown, and it is presumable that he revealed the true state of affairs to him. Brown feared a panic such as the community had not undergone since the stormy times of his own bank, and he was determined that the Nevada bank should not close itr doors. It was a reversal of the hard times of the Bank of California, and if there had not been so much at stake in a panic probably a memory of the days when Flood & O'Brien were credited with making au extravagant boast about selling whisky over the counters of Ralston's institution (this has been denied; by Flood) would have stayed the helping hand Brown was able to extend. At any rate he was so determined that the Nevada should not close, that, as a dermer resort in the accomplishment of his purpose, he exclaimed: "Tell Flood we'll help him; the Bank of California will lend the Nevada bank $1,000,000 to open up with Monday morning." After much urging on the part of friends, Flood accepted, and Monday morning the bank opened for business as usual with full coin trays. The sight of these trays checked the promised run: more aid was received from other sources, and the danger was tided over for a few days. James G. Fair had an idle million and a quarter that he had set aside to buy a ranch with, and this was placed at the bank's disposal. It took a long time to straighten out the tangle and much compromising and general financiering. If the bank had been forced to unload its immense hold-