Coin here directed two boys, with a stick and tape line in their hands, to go to the corner of the room and measure off 22 feet square.
This they did, with the assistance of the people sitting there; measuring from the corner 22 feet each way along the walls, and then out from those points 22 feet parallel with the first measurements. At this point the stick that one of the boys was carrying was placed in a perpendicular position, with the tape line reaching each way 22 feet to the walls.
Coin, continuing, said:
"That stick is 22 feet high, and the inclosure indicated by it and the tape line is the cube of 22 feet. That space will hold all the gold in the world obtainable for use as money!"
Coin had spoken the last few words slowly but with great emphasis. A buzz of conversation went around the room with expressions of disbelief—such as "impossible," "it cannot be." Many had risen to their feet. Professor Laughlin was scratching his head. A mild state of sensation pervaded the entire room. The bimetallists were excited, but smiling, for they felt confident the little financier could not be cornered. In fact, he now had gold in the corner.
"A cubic foot of cast gold," continued Coin, after waiting for the effect of his last words, "weighs 19,258 ounces; multiply this by 480, the number of grains in an ounce, and you have 9,243,840 grains.
"This gives you the number of grains in a cubic foot of gold. There are 23.22 (to be exact) grains of gold in a dollar; divide the number of grains in a cubic foot by this, and it gives you the number of dollars, viz.: $398,098 in a cubic foot of cast gold.
"Now as there is $398,098 in a cubic foot of gold, by
