The foes faced each other, watchful as two wrestlers looking to seize an opening, and the Board-room held its breath. Then the crowd of brokers closed in again and the clamor rose once more. I could not make out the progress of the contest, but the trained ear of Wallbridge interpreted the explosions of inarticulate sound. “Phew! listen to that! Two thousand, twenty-one hundred, twenty-one fifty. Great snakes! See her jump!” he cried. “Decker's getting it.” My heart sank. Doddridge Knapp must have smothered his brain once more in the Black Smoke, and was now paying the price of indulgence. And his plans of wealth were a sacrifice to the wild and criminal scheme into which he had entered in his contest against the Unknown. I saw the wreck of fortune engulf Mrs. Knapp and Luella, and groaned in spirit. Then a flash of hope shot through me. Luella Knapp, the heiress to millions, was beyond my dreams, but Luella Knapp, the daughter of a ruined speculator, would not be too high a prize for a poor man to set his eyes upon. The clang of the gong recalled me from the reverie that had shut out the details of the scene before me. “There! Did you hear that?” groaned Wall-bridge. “Omega closes at two thousand six hundred and Decker takes every trick. Oh, why didn't you have me on the floor out there? By the great horn spoon, I'd 'a' had every share of that stock, and wouldn't 'a' paid more than half as much for it, neither.” I sighed and turned, sick at heart, to meet the King of the Street as he shouldered his way from the floor. There was not a trace of his misfortune to be read in his face. But Decker, the victor, moved away like a man oppressed, pale, staggering, half-fainting, as though the nervous strain had brought him to the edge of collapse. Doddridge Knapp made his way to the doors and signed me to follow him, but spoke no word until we stood beside the columns that guard the entrance. The rain fell in a drizzle, but anxious crowds lined the streets, dodged into doorways for shelter, or boldly moved across the walks and the cobbled roadway under the protection of bobbing umbrellas. The news of the unprecedented jump in Omega in which the price had doubled thrice in a few minutes, had flown from mouth to mouth, and excitement was at fever heat. “That was warm work,” said Doddridge Knapp after a moment's halt. “I was very sorry to have it turn out so,” I said. A grim smile passed over his face. “I wasn't,” he growled good-humoredly. “I thought it was rather neatly done.” I looked at him in surprise. “Oh, I forgot that I hadn't seen you,” he continued. “And like enough I shouldn't have told you if I had. The truth is, I found a block of four thousand shares on Saturday night, and made a combination with them.” “Then the mine is yours?” “The directors will be.” “But you were buying shares this morning.” “A mere optical illusion, Wilton. I was in fact a seller, for I had shares to spare.” “It was a very good imitation.”