hour. This was his
great moment. Like a wolf prowling under glittering, bitter stars in
the night, he was looking down into the humble folds of simple men and
seeing what their ignorance and their unsophistication would cost them.

He hurried back to the exchange, the very same room in which only two
years before he had fought his losing fight, and, finding that his
partner and his brother had not yet come, began to sell everything in
sight. Pandemonium had broken loose. Boys and men were fairly tearing in
from all sections with orders from panic-struck brokers to sell, sell,
sell, and later with orders to buy; the various trading-posts were
reeling, swirling masses of brokers and their agents. Outside in the
street in front of Jay Cooke & Co., Clark & Co., the Girard National
Bank, and other institutions, immense crowds were beginning to form.
They were hurrying here to learn the trouble, to withdraw their
deposits, to protect their interests generally. A policeman arrested a
boy for calling out the failure of Jay Cooke & Co., but nevertheless the
news of the great disaster was spreading like wild-fire.

Among these panic-struck men Cowperwood was perfectly calm, deadly cold,
the same Cowperwood who had pegged solemnly at his ten chairs each day
in prison, who had baited his traps for rats, and worked in the little
garden allotted him in utter silence and loneliness. Now he was vigorous
and energetic. He had been just sufficiently about this exchange floor
once more to have made his personality impressive and distinguished.
He forced his way into the center of swirling crowds of men already
shouting themselves hoarse, offering whatever was being offered in
quantities which were astonishing, and at prices which allured the few
who were anxious to make money out of the tumbling prices to buy.
New York Central had been standing at 104 7/8 when the failure was
announced; Rhode Island at 108 7/8; Western Union at 92 1/2; Wabash at
70 1/4; Panama at 117 3/8; Central Pacific at 99 5/8; St. Paul at 51;
Hannibal & St. Joseph at 48; Northwestern at 63; Union Pacific at 26
3/4; Ohio and Mississippi at 38 3/4. Cowperwood's house had scarcely any
of the stocks on hand. They were not carrying them for any customers,
and yet he sold, sold, sold, to whoever would take, at prices which he
felt sure would inspire them.

"Five thousand of New York Central at ninety-nine, ninety-eight,
ninety-seven, ninety-six, ninety-five, ninety-four