Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/145

 "When the next day came, Gould and Fisk went together to Broad street and took possession of the private back office of a principal broker, 'without asking the privilege of doing so,' as the broker observes in his evidence. The first news brought to Gould was a disaster. The government had sent three men from Washington to examine the bank which Gould owned, and the bank sent word to Mr. Gould that it feared to certify for him as usual, and was itself in danger of a panic, caused by the presence of officers, which created distrust of the bank. It barely managed to save itself. Gould took the information silently, and his firm redoubled sales of gold. His partner, Smith, gave the orders to one broker after another—'Sell ten millions!' 'The order was given as quick as a flash, and away he went,' says one of these men. 'I sold only eight millions.' 'Sell, sell, sell! do nothing but sell!—only don't sell to Fisk's brokers,' were the orders which Smith himself acknowledges. In the gold-room Fisk's brokers were shouting their rising bids, and the packed crowd grew frantic with rage and terror as each successive rise showed their increasing losses. The wide streets outside were thronged with excited people; the telegraph offices were overwhelmed with messages ordering sales or purchases of gold or stocks; and the whole nation was watching eagerly to see what the result of this convulsion was to be. All trade was stopped, and even the President felt that it was time to raise his hand. No one who has not seen the New York gold-room can understand