The record-union., 1894-12-22

ance and makeshift for compelling atten-
! ton; while, issuing from their brave toll,
showers upon showers OF extras fell upon
the great city like meteOric rain from the
plumy tail of a great comet.
Down, down, down went Great Central,
an eighth, a fourth, half. three-quarters,
and finally, one and two points, at a
marking. Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati,
ST. Louis, New Orleans. Minneapolis and
ST. Paul, Denver and San francisco, soon
came peIl nell with their offerings.
London and PARIS, Amsterdam and
Antwerp awoke, and quiveringly flashed
their frightened orders for sales. 1t
seemed, as the afternoon wore away, as
though the whole financial world had
united to unload its Great Central hold
lngs. One o'clock, one-thirty, TWO, and
twO-thirty, had passed amid the most eX-
traordinary uproar Wall street had ever
experienced since its memorable Black
Friday. MeSsrs. Putt IL Call were I'M
perauvely wiring Launcey PeIiew Tor IN
slructlons. Thousands upon thousands
Oh messages, unopened messages, too, had
poured IN upon him, insisting that some
thing be done to block the bearing OF his
company's securities.
AT exactly two-thirty o'clock, Mr.. Pei
lew looked up pleasantly from his work
TO his agitated Secretary and calmly in
quired:
How many of those kilograms to
over half OF them, sir. With little
help can easily finish them before
dark"
Good! And where is she now?"
she, referred to the humming reve-
IatIons of the ticker.
1hlrteen points to the bad, sir"
ME-. PeIieW at once stepped to the tele-
phone. When he had got Messrs. Putt
q CaI over the wire he said clearly and
distinctly:
Pick up all the Great Central offered"
- - -- :" buzzed the
instrument whizzlingly.
Understand, now. Buy eyerythino in
sightv' ~
bedIam was again let loose in the stock
eAchange. In fifteen minutes time moro
IMAM one hundred thousand shares had
peeu captured at an average of nine
PoInts proht per share, and the market,
amid The widest excitement. closed
strong and firm, with Great Central bnt
nan point below its morning Quota
uoii' Wild Out few scattering sellers, and
Win the DewIldered traders aghast at the
amazing Iegerdemain of the day.
a round million had been gained. The
Great Central directory, almost uncon-
scious of the startling Operations of the
uay, ana at first speechless over the
PIlhcely increase. departed for their Va
rIous christmas festivities with mutual
congratulations upon good riddauce To
tloii INC - ~ ~ mnlpofCuhate claimants, and Laun-
cey PeiIew, remaining in his Office until
certain that glorious news would be
Hasheu TO each OF the sable fipures he
stlIl deemed as having been among his
visitors OF the previous night, at last
stole away to his own home with all the
dread ghosts of his dreadful vision for
ever laid.
But he has since contidentially told his
irIends, the Presidents, the Princes, the
freIateS and the POtentates, as a merry
jest upon himself, that the next forty
eight hours was passed without sleep,
Ior the storming of the mansion by
tempest of messages-message of hiiar-
lty, messages of congratulation, messages
Oh sympathetic pride, messages of tre-
mendous denunciation, and, above all.
whirlwInd Of God bless you'' mess
ages, which made his Ionged-for quiet
Christmas the most agitated Christmas of
all his eventful life.