Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/135

 for others who were deep in the game with himself. No thought for Fisk, his friend and associate. His mind labored for himself alone. He soon reached a conclusion. While there was yet time he would dump his heavy load of gold on the market and let others take what he could not carry. His only capital now was the early information he possessed of the President's aroused suspicions; of his change of purpose. He did not tell even Fisk of Mrs. Grant's letter to Mrs. Corbin, but let Fisk continue his purchases in ignorance of the real situation. He only remarked to Fisk that Corbin was getting weary and wanted his profits, or something to that purpose. Thursday—the day preceding Black Friday—Gould began his dumping process. "I sold that day," he testified afterward, "and only bought enough to make the street think I was still a bull."

Here is Mr. Clews' story of days immediately preceding the fatal Friday.

"On Wednesday, the 22d of September, two days preceding 'Black Friday,' the clique, it is believed, owned several millions more gold than there was in the city, outside the vaults of the sub-treasury. Belden bought about eight millions of gold on that day, while Smith, Gould, Martin & Co. were also heavy purchasers. The clique held a caucus in the office of Wm. Heath & Co. in Broad street and concluded that it had gold enough to put the price to 200 if it could carry the gold without lending and compel the shorts to purchase. But the idea of finding a market for over thirty millions of