elow the closing price of the previous day, by buying all that was
offered--the early offerings were large, but not overwhelming. The
supporters of other industrials saw that the assault on Woolens was a
menace to their stocks--if a strong industrial weakened, the weaker
ones would inevitably suffer disaster in the frightened market that
would surely result. They showed a disposition to rally to the support
of the Dumont stocks.

At eleven o'clock Giddings began to hope that the raid was a failure,
if indeed it had been a real raid. At eleven-twenty Herron played his
trump card.

The National Industrial Bank is the huge barometer to which both
speculative and investing Wall Street looks for guidance. Whom that
bank protects is as safe as was the medieval fugitive who laid hold of
the altar in the sanctuary; whom that bank frowns upon in the hour of
stress is lost indeed if he have so much as a pin's-point area of heel
that is vulnerable. Melville, president of the National Industrial,
was a fanatically religious man, with as keen a nose for heretics as
for rotten spots in collateral. He was peculiarly savage in his hatred
of all matrimonial deviations. He was a brother of Fanshaw's mother;
and she and Herron had been working upon him. But so long as Dumont's
share in the scandal was not publicly attributed he remained
obdurate--he never permitted his up-town creed or code to interfere
with his down-town doings unless it became necessary--that is, unless
it could be done without money loss. For up-town or down-town, to make
money was always and in all circumstances the highest morality, to lose
money the profoundest immorality.

At twenty minutes past eleven Melville and the president of the other
banks of his chain called loans to Dumont and the Dumont supporting
group to the amount of three millions and a quarter. Ten minutes later
other banks and trust companies whose loans to Dumont and his allies
either were on call or contained provisions permitting a demand for
increased collateral, followed Melville's example and aimed and sped
their knives for Dumont's vitals.

Giddings found himself face to face with unexpected and peremptory
demands for eleven millions in cash and thirteen millions in additional
collateral securities. If he did not meet these demands forthwith the
banks and trust companies, to protect themselves, would throw upon the
market at whatever price they could get the thirty-odd millions o