With a roar he rushed into the midst of a whirling throng. I saw twenty brokers about him, shouting and threatening. One in his eagerness jumped upon the shoulders of a fat man in front of him, and shook a paper under his nose. I could make out nothing of what was going on, except that the excitement was tremendous. Twice Eppner reported to me. The stock was being hammered down stroke by stroke. There was a rush to sell. Fifty-five--fifty-three--fifty, came the price--then by leaps to forty-five and forty. It was a panic. At last the gong sounded, and the scene was over. Men staggered from the Exchange, white as death, some cursing, some angry and red, some despairing, some elate. I could see that ten had lost for one who had gained. Eppner reported at the end of the call. He had bought for me twelve thousand five hundred shares, over ten thousand of them below fifty. The total was frightful. There was half a million dollars to pay when the time for settlement came. It was folly to suppose that my credit at the Nevada was of this size. But I put a bold face on it, gave a check for the figure that Eppner named, and rose. “Any more orders?” he asked. “Not till afternoon.” As I passed into the street I was astonished at the swift transformation that had come over it. The block about the Exchange was crowded with a tossing throng, hundreds upon hundreds pushing toward its fateful doors. But where cheerfulness and hope had ruled, fear and gloom now vibrated in electric waves before me. The faces turned to the pitiless, polished granite front of the great gambling-hall were white and drawn, and on them sat Ruin and Despair. The men were for the most part silent, with here and there one cursing; the women, who were there by scores, wept and mourned; and from the multitudes rose that peculiar whisper of crowds that tells of apprehension of things worse to come. And this, I must believe, was the work of Doddridge Knapp. CHAPTER X A TANGLE OF SCHEMES Doddridge Knapp was seated calmly in my office when I opened the door. There was a grim smile about the firm jaws, and a satisfied glitter in the keen eyes. The Wolf had found his prey, and the dismay of the sheep at the sight of his fangs gave him satisfaction instead of distress. The King of the Street honored me with a royal nod. “There seems to have been a little surprise for somebody on the Board this morning,” he suggested. “I heard something about it on the street,” I admitted. “It was a good plan and worked well. Let me see your memoranda of purchases.” I gave him my slips. He looked over them with growing perplexity in his face. “Here's twelve thousand five hundred shares of Omega.” “Yes.” “You paid too much for that first lot.” He was still poring over the list. “It's easier to see that now than then,” I suggested dryly. “Humph! yes. But there's something wrong here.” He was comparing my list with another in his hand.