The Pit

it, together with the wretched story of his friend's final surrender to a temptatio

to shut out all the sunshine that had been flooding in through the broad plate-glass win

ver knew it-I've killed him, Sam. I might as well have held that pistol myself." He stamped his foot, striking his

p on ourselves to-day. We've got a lot to think of. We'll think about Charlie, later. Just now ...

in front of Jadwin,

it go till this afternoon. I can't talk busi

n's face. "N-no, I don't think we'd better wait. I think we'd better meet the

faced

hear you talk, as though there was d

ent's silence Then the broker caught h

ints to a banner crop. There's been an increase of acreage everywhere, because of our high prices. See this from Travers"-he picked up a despatch and read: "'Preliminary returns of spring wheat in two Dakotas,

on't grade, and Europe will take nearly all of it. What we ought to do is to send our men into

do is to take all the Bears are offering, and support the market. The moment they offer us wheat and we don't buy it, t

of much wheat to-da

little by little. To do this at a profit, he had adopted the expedient of flooding the Pit with buying orders just before the close of the session, and then as the price rose under this stimulus, selling quickly, before it had

d much on 'em to-da

It's the new crop, as I've said over and over again. We've put wheat so high, that all the farmers have planted it, and are getting ready to dump it on us. The Pit knows that, of course. Why, just think, they are harvesting in some pl

rt. It was a littl

t broke the price down to a dollar and twenty. Just th

dollars in another

ts into the millions. We've got thirty, forty, fifty million bushels of wheat that's worth over a dollar a bushel, but if we can't sell it, we're none the better off-and that wheat is costing us six thousand dollars a

can't give them buying orders, that Pit will suck us down like a chip. The moment w

o million, at-oh, at eight cents below the market; and to Liverpool, and let 'em have twopence off on the same amount. They'll snap it up as quick

g to mortgage

n the Board opens to-morrow morning, I'm going to light into those cattle in the Pit there, so as they'll think a locomotive has struck 'em. They'd stand me off, would they? They'd try to sell me down; they won't cover when I turn the screw! I'll show 'em, Sam Gretry. I'll run wheat up so high before the next two days, that the Bank of

ers, and stared down at the papers on his desk. Once he start

, briskly. "We'll se

ir orders, tell them for to-day just to support the market. If there's much wheat offered they'd better buy

the last huge strategical move, the concentration of every piece of heavy artillery. Never in all his multitude of operations on the Chicago Board of Trade had he failed. He knew he would not fail now; Luck, the golden goddess, still staid at his shoulder. He did more than mortgage his property; he floated a number of promissory

ustomers' room, reading a two days old newspaper. Of a sudden an idea occurred to Jadwin. He took the old man aside. "Hargus," he said, "do you want a good investment for y

d fellow querulously. Ja

uspicious glance at

nd my money,"

ere, is it more interest you want? Why,

, shaking his head. "I ain't got any to l

he hazard. Laura, in her own name, was possessed of a little fortune; sure as he was of winning, Jadwin none the less hesitated

e assault, and the thrill of a victory more brilliant, more conclusive, more decisive than any he had ever known, vibrat

is great triumph only a few hours distant, Jadwin, for the instant, stood daunted. The roar was appalling, the whirlpool was again unchained, the maelstrom was again unleashed. And during the briefest of seconds he could fancy that the familiar bellow of its swirling, had taken on another pitch. Ou

all the reaches of the Middle West, the Wheat, like a tidal wave, was rising, rising. Almighty, blood-brother to the earthquake, coeval

e fought, it was that fatal New Harvest; it was the Wheat; it was-as Gretry had said-the very Earth itself. What were those scattered hundreds of farmers of the Middle West, who because he had put the price so high had planted the grain as never before? What had they to do with it? Why the Wheat had grown itself; demand and supply, these were the two great laws the Wheat obeyed. Almost blasp

ld turn it. But Jadwin hurried away from the sound of the near roaring of the Pit. No, no. Luck was with him; he had mastered the current of the Pit many time

pale face upon

to Liverpool and Paris. I offered wheat at both places, as

s-w

ing gravely into Jadwin's eye

there. Though it was barely half-past seven, her sister was dressed for the street. She wore a smart red hat, and as she stood

down at her place, "why, Pagie

aist. "He is going to take me down to see the Board of Trade-from the visitor's gallery, y

that for three days-with the exception of an hour or two, on the evening after that

ays. He says that it is the greatest fight in the history of La Sall

a, in a low voice; "I don't k

le. But there was nothing there, not even so much as an envelope; and no one had so much as wished her joy of the little annivers

folding her napkin, with laborious precision. "Laura-Lan

as I can be for you. He's a fine, clean fello

w a deep

, I wasn't sure about having him care for me, because at that time-well-" Page looked

d for me. It was all the silliest kind of flirtation. T

over, and know just how much it will cost to live and keep one servant. I'm going to serve the loveliest little dinners; I'v

room, his cheeks pink, his blonde hair radiant. But he was thin and a little worn, a dull feverish glitter came and went in his

Page. "I must be down there hou

ve you seen him lately? How is he ge

sharp gesture

t how they were mistaken. For a time there, we were just driving them. But then Mr. Gretry sent word to us in the Pit to sell, and we couldn't hold them. They came back at us like wolves; they beat the price down five cents, in as many minutes. We had to quit selling,

inquired Laura, "is he

office. Yes, he looked all right. He's nervous, of course. But

etting up from the table. "Have you had your

. If you are going to get a seat in the gallery, you must be there half an hour ahead o

what day of the month this is-or no, don't ask him that. Say nothing about it. Just t

e and cool. The sky over the Board of Trade sparkled with sunlight, and the air was full of fluttering w

as they paused on the street corner opposite the Board. "

hut he

finding him there like that. Oh, it would

, "somehow, by George! she don't seem to mind very much. You

uld give way altogether. When she told me about that morning at the Cresslers' house, her voice was just like ice; she said, 'Mr. Cressler has shot himself. I found him dead in his library.' She never shed a tear, and she spoke, oh, in such a terrible monotone. Oh! dear," cried Page,

ng her by the arm, ushered her into the c

said, "and see if we can g

to the wall, others aimlessly wandering up and down, looking and listening, their heads in the air. On

"even if they let you in. They're

d Page with a knowi

gallery to reserve a seat fo

n silks; rough fellows of the poorer streets, and gaudily dressed queens of obscure neighborhoods, while mixed with these one saw the faded and shabby wrecks that perennially drifted about the Board of Trade, the failures who sat on the chairs of the customers' rooms day in and day out, read

y torrents that fed the cloaca were moving. From all over the immediate neighborhood they came, from the offices of hundreds of commission houses, from brokers' offices, from banks, from the tall, grey buildings of La Salle Street, from the street itself. And even from greater distances they came; auxiliary currents set in from all the reach of the Great Northwest, from Minneapolis, Duluth, and Milw

rsations held in dark corners, in the noise of rapid footsteps, in the trilling of telephone bells. These sounds came from all around her; they issued from the offices of the building

forming, and the sound of its courses was like th

ed dense and immobilised. But, little by little, Landry wormed a way for them, winning one st

dness for me to stay another

lery that you kept the seat for me-if I ever can get there. You must go. Don't stay another minute. If you can, come for

left her and bore back with all his might through the crowd, gained the l

she could see the back rows of seats in the gallery. But they were already occupied. It seemed hopeless to expect to see anythin

scraps of discussions, and while she waited she found an intere

dry from attempting to reach the gallery, "well, he's shaken 'em up pre

o wore a wonderful white waistcoat with queer

ator, tha

ng for him n

's got another fight

see

me into the Pit-thes

ge two women kept up an

you know, a long time ago, and held on till Mr. Jadwin put the price up to four times what she paid for it. Then she sold out. My, you ought to see the lovely house

ion, adding in a hoarse whisper: "If Mr. Jadwin fails to-d

bow, a man's bass voice cut across t

ere's two or three smaller firms that are dependent on them. If Gretry-Converse & Co. should suspend, Burbank would go with a crash sure. And ther

n will pul

! I hope so. Say, by the

u! Jadwin put the knife into me to the tune of twelve thousand dollars. But, say, look here; aren't we ever going to get up to that blame gallery? We ain't going to see any of this, and I-hark!-by

e that was drowned in the sudden vast volume

y-w

ten. The crowd upon the staircases had surged irresistibly forward and upward. There wa

-don't

h, I shall fai

furiously; their faces purple, they sh

u damn fools, w

t cro

back,

ou! We'll all have a chance to see. Good

rice. It broke three cents, just

orst I ever sa

Jadwin can o

he'll h

friend, it don't do you an

ay, do you know where they're at on the floo

! there they go again. Lord! that must have been a smash. I guess the Board of

t down there

they shouldered their way to the top of the stairs, and then

ear the stairway

to the top of the stairs, managed to extricate an arm from the press,

Will you let me

ll the mass of his two hundred pounds and the majesty of the law h

me right along, Miss. Stand back you, now. Can't you see the lady has a pa

ay forward, till the officer caught her by the arm, and pulled her out

with brass buttons and a visored cap, stood n

it over. "You were the party Mr. Court spoke about. You just c

s of theatre chairs, all of which were occupi

w. Ah, it's a wild day, Miss. They ain't done much yet, and Mr. Jadwin's holding his own, just now. But I thought f

leaning forward looked

s till, all out of breath, he gained Gretry's private office. The other Pit traders for the house, some eight or ten men, were already

e orders for

ater cooler and drank a brief swallow. Then emptying the glass he refilled it, moistened his lips again, and again emptied and filled the goblet. He put it down, caught it up once more, filled it, emptied it, drinking now in long

ou can buy, each of you, up to half a million bushels apiece. If that don't keep the price up, if they still are selling after that ... well"; Gretry paused a moment, irresolutely, "well," he added suddenly, "if they are still selling freely after you've each bought h

rigidity of drawn wire, to meet the issue of the impending hours. Now, was to come the last grapple. He had never lived through a crisis such as this before. Would he prevail, would he keep his head? Would he av

nawed their nails to the quick, breathing rapidly, audibly even, their nostrils expanding and contracting. All around roared the vague thunder that since early morning had shaken the building. In the Pit the bids leaped to and fro, though the time of opening had not yet come; the very planks under foot seemed spinning about in the first huge warning swirl of the Pit's centripetal convulsion. There was dizziness in the air. S

d Niagaras. Hands clutched and tore at him, his own tore and clutched in turn. The Pit was mad, was drunk and frenzied; not a man of all those who fought and scrambled and shouted who knew what he or his neighbour did. They only knew that a support long thought to be secure was giving way; not gradually, not evenly, but by horrible collapses, and equally horrible upward leaps. Now it held, now it broke, now it reformed again, rose again, then again in hideous cataclysms fell from bene

appalling roar of the Wheat itself coming in, coming on like a tidal wave, bursting through, dashing barriers aside, rolling like a measu

of the Gretry tr

to my limit. No more orders have come in. The ma

gone to hell; looks like the last smash. There are no more suppor

ned sharply about. He fought his way out of the Pit; he ran hatless and panting across the floor, in and out

tatives of a great commercial agency were besieging one o

you are at-that's

the price of

winning o

ut an arm in a wild g

rom everybody. You know as much about it as I do. It's simply hell bro

or of the private office and entered,

are we to do? We

roup that gathered around Gretry's d

m, one hand upon his arm. In the remainder of the group Landry recognised the senior clerk of the office, one of the hea

; don't you see we can't meet our margin calls? It

ch Jadwin cried the words: "It's a lie! Keep on buying, I tell you. Take a

," retorted Gretry. "Why, J., ask any of

the banker, quietly. "You were

nior clerk, "for God's sake

d all appeal. He thr

you. You have sold me out. Crookes has bought you. Get out of my way!" he s

try implored, still holding him by t

e rang like a

the

him back, gentlemen. He d

ers, I'll act myself. I'm go

w. You're ruined-don't you

ho failed me in a crisis." And as he spoke Cur

of his desk. His pale face flashed to crimson for an ins

im go, let him go. Th

p that tried to hold him, suddenly flung off the restraining

into his chair

end," he s

r to him, and in a shaking h

te to the senior clerk, "take that t

, undismayed came the "Great Bull." No sooner had he set foot within the entrance to the Floor, than the news went flashing and flying from lip to lip. The galleries knew it, the public room, and th

he had inspired, that this last move in the great game he had been playing, this unexpected, direct, per

manoeuvre? For a second they hesitated, then moved by a common impulse, feeling the push of the wonderful new harvest behind them, they gathered themselves together for the final assault,

avalanche, the undiked Ocean of the Wheat, leaping to t

but now it rose like the upbuilding of a colossal billow. It towered, towered, hung poised for an instant, and then, with a thunder as of the g

paroxysms of the last few months all at once culminated in some indefinite, indefinable crisis, and the wheels and cogs of all activities save one lapsed away and ceased. Only one function o

wheat, wheat-

his destruction, he stood braced, rigid upon his feet, his head up, his hand, the great bony hand that once had held the whole Pit in its grip, flung high in the air,

or July-give a d

aining soldier, white, shaking, the sobs strangling in his throat, clung to him desperately. Another billow of wheat was preparing. They two-the beaten general and his young armour bearer-heard it coming; hissing, raging,

lt the grip on his fingers like the contracting of a vise of steel. The other hand, as though holding up a standard,

or July-give a d

g. There were sudden lapses in the shouting, and in these lapses he could hear from s

sh as certain groups of traders started the pandemonium again, by the wild outcrying of their offers. At last, however, the older

wildered, still holding his chief by the hand, looked about him. On the floor, near at hand, stood the president of the Board of Trade himself, and with him the vice-president and a gr

an, in a long black coat-the secretary of the Board of Trade. Landry with the others saw him, saw him advanc

f that profound silence

ry, Converse & Co. mu

f before they were greeted with a wild, shrill yell of exultation

ed upon cheer, yell after yell. Hats went into the air. In a frenzy of delight men danced and leaped and capered upon the edge of the Pit,

er men protested. T

e, sh

let him

e's down now.

sed, these others; they had felt the weight of the Bull's hoof, t

. Busted, busted, busted. H

or God's sake, Mr.

m in both his hands, his lips to his chief's ear

ger to see or hear; heavily, painfully

, sir-for

while they gave place, cheering with eyes averted, un

ah-h-h, bus

him from the Pit. The sobs were in his throat again, and tears of exc

h, he's done for

"damn you all; you brutes, you beasts! If he'd so much as

he floor, the gong that closed the trading struck and, as it seemed, put a peri

iding arm. The visitors in the galleries bent far over to see him pass, and from all over the floor, spectators, hangers-on, corn-and-provision traders, messe

eers. But at the doorway stood a figure that Landry recognised at once-a small man, lean-faced, trimly dressed, his cle

ed, Landry heard t

eat itself that beat him; no combination of men could have done it-g

blur. She had looked down upon a jam of men, who for three hours had done nothing but shout and struggle. She had seen Jadwin come into the Pit, and almost at once the shouts had turned to cheers. That must have meant, she thought, that Jadwin had done something to please those excited men. The

e departing spectators, she distinctly

hat does

the gallery stairway, hoping that he would come for her. But she saw nothing of him, and soon remembered she had told him to come for her, only in case he was able to get away. No doubt he was too busy now. Even if Mr. Jadwin had won, the morn

hour for luncheon when she came into th

of the maid, as she sat down to

word to say that she wanted no lunch, that sh

salad, and ordering a cup of strong tea, car

her sister, of late. But to-day it was more pronounced than ever. Something surely was the matter with Laura. She seemed like one who had staked everything upon a hazard and, blind to all else, was keeping back emotion with all her strength, while she watched and waited for the issue. Page guessed that her sister's trouble had to do with Jadwin's complete absorpt

had brought. She wanted nothing, she said; her head ac

Board of Trade all the

h a swift glance; s

u see C

that way all the time. I'm afraid Mr. Jadwin lost a great deal of money. I heard some one behind me say so, but I couldn't understand what was going on. F

he was coming ho

erstand, I didn't

y didn't

ou don't know how rushed everything w

seem ver

Land

, no, C

n, and it went down, down, down. It looked that way to me. Don't that mean that he'll lose a great deal of money? And Landry seemed so

harp gesture of impatienc

is wretched scrambling for money. Curtis

body was," she said

give a great deal of time to his business. I did

y," murmu

Page bridled, h

mpathise-and-" Page caught her breath, a little bewildered at her own vehemence and audacity. But she had committed herself now; recklessly she plunged on. "Just think; he may be fighting the battle of his life down there in La Salle Street, and you don't know anything about it-no, nor want to know. 'What do you

troubles. I guess he's got his own troubles too. If my husband had a battle to fight, do you think I'd mope and pine because he left me at home; no I wouldn't. I'd help him buckle his

s and the sobs in her throat, flung out of the

oy her. She gazed an instant at the closed door, then rose and put her chin in the air. She was right, and Page her husband, everybody, were wrong. She

grief, with compassion, and the bitter sorrow of a kind friend gone forever from her side. And then, her resolution girding itself, her will power at fullest stretch, she had put the tragedy from her. Other and-for her-more momentous events impended. Everything in life, even death itself, must stand aside while her love was put to the test. Life and death were little things. Love only existed; let her husband's career fail; what did it import so only love stood the strain and issued from the struggle triumphant? And now, as she

was not over yet; perhaps, perhaps he would remember her, after all, before the afternoon was over. He was managing a little surprise for her, no doubt. He knew what day this was. After their talk that Sunday in his smoking-r

it would intrude. She would have him all to herself. He would, so she determined, forget everything else in his love for her. She would be beautiful as never before-brilliant, resistless, and dazzling. She would have him at her feet, her own, her own again, as much her own

a woman neglected. But it was to end now; her pride woul

In spite of her anxiety, she yet murmured over and over again as she p

, he will send wor

el. But it seemed consistent none the less to choose her most beautiful gown for the occasion, to panoply herself in every charm that was her own. Her dress, that closely sheathed the low, flat curves of her body and that left her slender arms and neck bare, was one shimmer of black scales,

and at the sight she could not forbear a smile and a sudden proud lifting of her head. All the woman in her preened and plumed herself in the consciousness of the power of h

t after the storm and stress of the day's work-the jaded mind, the exhausted body, the faculties dulled by overwork-she was sorry for them. They, less radiant than herself, less potent to charm, cou

elf to be invincible. So only that he saw her thus, she knew that she would conquer. And he would come. "I

ibration of the silver cord which Page had struck so sharply. Was it-after all-Love, that she cherished and strove for-love, or self-love? Ever since Page had spok

usband back to her-this display of her beauty,

" Was this the way? Was not this the only way? Win him back to her? What if there were more need for her to win back to him? Oh, once she had been able to say that love, the supreme triumph o

e birth of a new being within her was not for that night. It was conception only-the sensation o

follow upon the night, conception had taken place within her. Whatever she did that evening, whatever came to her, through whatever crises she should hurry, she would not now be quite the same. She had been accustom

evolution, not revolution. The consummation was to be achieved in the coming years. For to-night she was-what was she? O

he made haste to assure herself that of course she could not expect him exactly on the hour. No, she must make allowances; the day-as Page had

r hour, was passing, and he had not so much as sent word. For a moment the thought occurred to her that he might

should come, no matter what has happened. Or

ening widened, unbroken around her, like a vast calm pool. Only the musical Gregorians of the newsboys chanting the evening's extras from corner to corner of the streets rose into the air from

nce of his life-was to prove whether or not love was paramount. This was the crucial hour.

clock chimed from the clock over the mantelshelf Lau

this was not the only time. All at once the past disappointments, slights, and humiliations came again to her memory. She had pleaded, and had been rebuffed again and again; she had given al

stening intently. Then she drew a deep

e! No, she could not be gracious at once; he must be made to feel how deeply he had offended; he must sue

she called. "In the libra

with rapid fingers, smoothed the agitation from her forehead, and sat down in a

pt her head turned away. The footsteps paused near at hand. There was a mome

day," said Sheldon Corthell, as he held t

a hand upon her cheek, h

she had breath

away again to-morrow," he said, "for always, I think. Have I startl

ried. "You remembered! I m

ions to which she could put no name swelled in her heart and rose in a quick, gasping sob to h

membered!" she cried again,

t them i

echoed. "I have

ing back the tears. "You don't understand. I

claimed. "I understand you bett

answer w

you then? Why didn't you make me understand myself?" She clasped her hands tight together upon her breast; her words, torn by her sobs, came a

late. Listen-

to know a woman's weakness? You can only t

ly, and before she was aware of it she was in his arms, his

. "You love me! I defy

," she answered. "Make me b

been my life, has been my death, my one joy, and my one bitterness. It has always been you, dearest, ye

"I implore you. I am weak, weak. Just

nswers me in spite of you, and you will forget-

breathlessly. Then, taking the le

to him. "Forget the one great mistake we both made. Forget e

sed before this day. Oh, if I remembered once, I would kill you, kill you with my hands! I don't know what I am saying," she moaned, "I do

hat have we done, wh

looking down into her eyes. "To take you far away with me. To gi

ever leave me a

, neve

es, her fingers plucking and tearing at the lace of her dress;

ust never be alone again so long as

n. Ah, this is my birthday, too, sw

terrors of her girlhood. "And you will always love me, love me, love me?" she whispered

Corthell's eyes

atever has brought you

y came to the ears of both the roll of wheels upon the asphalt

ranged coiffure, one black lock low upon her neck, the roses at he

t your

my husband? I have no husband. You are letting me remember," she cried, in ter

bent and

w evening," he said. "You wil

, yes, to go wit

. Somewhere a door closed. He hear

till to-morrow night." And with the words he was

er place on the long divan at the sound o

er, his eyes sunken deep in his head, his face dead white, his hand shaking. He stood fo

rl....

way towards him, her heart beating,

and, my

k down upon it side by side, holding to each other

k. Something happened.... I don't remember," he put his hand uncertai

whisper. "It's dark, dark. Something

urtis Jadwin and his wife sat there in the vast, gorgeous room, sile

nged and wailing cry rose suddenly from the street, and passed on t

Smash of the Great Wheat Corner! Al

CLU

lown across the city from off the lake, and by eight o'clock, when Laura

ir way across the room-their footsteps ech

ing box there. Are you tired? You had better put your hat on. It is fu

ght, old girl. Is t

had a pretty bad siege of it, you know, and this is only t

fine as a fiddle by now. You must be tired yourself, Laura. Why, for w

d, as though dism

and clasping a knee in her hands, "I wonder what the West wi

girl," he said, with a warning shake of hi

n almost cont

ook his hand and l

" he began. "What have I done for you b

er gloved hand

r. You have brought me the gr

her eyes wide and tho

triumph, and I have won

anded Jadwin. "

here to choose,' now, isn't it? And this big house and all the life we hav

e said, grimly. "Nothing left but the wall p

lled 'books a

e place and all go so dirt cheap, and the 'Thetis', too, by George! But I'm glad now. It's as though we had lightened ship." He

om Page this morning, from New York. Do you want to hear what she has to say? I've only had

t a c

g himself on the box. "What

ench. I know my accent is improving, and Landry has learned any quantity of phrases already. We are reading George Sand out loud, and are making up the longest vocabulary. To-night we are going to a concert, and I've found

g, she would rent it, and then sublet all the lower floor to Landry and me, so we could have a real house over our heads and not the under side of the floor of the flat overhead. And she is

ing Central Park (not so beautiful as our palace on North Avenue. Never, never will I forget that house). She will probably stay here now always. She says the very sight of t

urning sharply away. "Don't skip a

re speculating for him, he says. He talks of Mr. Jadwin continually. You never saw or heard of such devotion. He says that Mr. Jadwin is a genius, the greatest financier in the country, and that

ed his must

nsense-little fo

a. "Even after he knew I was to marry you. He never once was jeal

at else does M

ovely medicine chest full of homoeopathic medicines, little pills and things, you know. But, as Landry and I are never sick and both laugh at homoeopathy, I declare I don't know just what we will do with it. Landry is as careful of me as though I were a wax doll. But

time for us to wish you both bon voyage and bon succes. How splendid of Mr. Jadwin to have started his new business

, dear. Ever you

GE C

ou that we met Mr. Corthell on the street

er quickly down, "Corthell-that artist c

comb in the ba

. "You remember-I told y

ay her head, but he laid

w, old girl, understand as I never did before. I fancy we both have been living according to a wrong notion of things. We started right when we were first married, but I worked away from it

athering up

y our things down for us and open the door, and it's

What do 'things,' servants, m

s valise and put his arm about his wife. She caught him about the neck and looked d

he raised the umbrella a

te, will you, L

ehind him. The noise woke a hollow echo throughout all the seri

," he

eet in the park the first leaves were beginning to fall; the lake lapped and washed quietly against the stone embankments and a belated bicyc

or of the hack. Jadwin handed Laura in, gave an address to the driver, and got in himself

window pane of the door, "look your last at th

would

est, at you, and our future, which is to be

ts collapse had started. The great failure had precipitated smaller failures, and the aggregate of smaller failures had pulled down one business house after another. For weeks afterward, the successive crashes were like the shock and reverberation of undermined buildings toppling to their ruin. An important ba

any way to blame. He had suffered, too. She r

ood between two sets of circumstances.

eat that had intervened like a great torrent to drag her husband from her side and drown him in the roaring vortices of the Pit, had passed on, resistless, along its ordered and predet

and and supply that ruled the world. This huge resistless Nourisher of the Nations-why was it that it could not

of a certain familiarity in the neighbourhood the carriage was traversing. The strange sens

this locality had once before impressed itself upon her imagination. She turned to her husband, an exclam

a in converging lines stretched the tall office buildings, lights burning in a few of their windows, even yet. Over the end of the street the lead-coloured sky was broken by a

ze of light in the heavens, and raised against it, the pile of the Board of Trade building, black, monolithic, crouching on its foundations like a