And he came back to the groups of brokers, who had now mustered in full force. There were sixty of them all told, and, in spite of the regulations, they were already doing business among themselves, at the mean quotation of the day before, whilst waiting for the ringing of the bell. Orders given at a predetermined fixed rate did not influence the market, since it was necessary to wait until this rate should be quoted; it was the orders to buy or sell on the best terms available, the execution of which was left to the broker's judgment, that provoked the continual oscillations in one or the other sense. A good broker should be possessed of shrewdness and foresight, a quick head, and agile muscles--for rapidity often ensures success--to say nothing of the necessity of having a good connection in the banking world, of securing information from all parts, and particularly of being the first to receive telegrams from the provincial and foreign money markets. And in addition to all this, a strong voice is needed, in order to be able to shout loudly. One o'clock struck, however; the peal of the bell passed like a gust of wind over the surging sea of heads, and the last vibration had not died away when Jacoby, with both hands resting on the velvet-covered handrail, shouted in a roaring voice, the loudest of the whole corporation of stockbrokers: 'I have Universals! I have Universals!' He did not name any price, but waited to be interrogated. The sixty brokers had drawn near and formed a circle around the _corbeille_, where a few _fiches_, just thrown away, had already set spots of bright colour. Face to face, the brokers, like duellists at the outset of a fray, scrutinised one another, eager to see the first quotation established. 'I have Universals!' repeated Jacoby in his deep, thundering voice: 'I have Universals!' 'What price Universals?' asked Mazaud, in a voice which, albeit thin, was so shrill that it dominated his colleague's in the same way as the strain of a flute rises above a violoncello accompaniment. Delarocque proposed the last quotation of the previous day. 'At three thousand and thirty I take Universals!' he bawled. But another broker at once intervened with a higher bid: 'At three thousand and thirty-five deliver Universals!' This was the _coulisse_ price, just coming in and preventing the deal which Delarocque had doubtless intended to make: a purchase at the _corbeille_ and a prompt sale at the _coulisse_, so as to secure the five francs' rise. Accordingly, Mazaud, feeling certain that Saccard would approve of it, made up his mind to carry matters further. 'At three thousand and forty I take! Deliver Universals at three thousand and forty!' 'How many?' asked Jacoby. 'Three hundred.'