isn't a bear," muttered Mollie.

"Indeed he is not," laughed Ruth, once more restored to good nature.

Instead of taking Mr. A. Bubble, the girls walked down from Mr. Stuart's
office to the big, gloomy building that housed the Board of Trade. They
were conducted to the gallery, where Mr. Stuart left them to go down to
the brokers' rooms to consult with some of his friends.

It was a mad, wild scene that the little country girls gazed upon. It
was like nothing they ever had seen before.

"Goodness me, they _are_ fighting!" cried Barbara in alarm.

Men were dashing about here and there. Hats were smashed, paper was
being torn by nervous hands and hurled into the air, to fall like
miniature snow flurries over the heads of the traders. Shouts and yells,
hoarse calls were heard from all parts of the floor. One man threw up a
hand with the fingers spread wide apart. Instantly a dozen men hurled
themselves upon him. He staggered and fell. Willing hands jerked him to
his feet. It was then that the "Automobile Girls" saw that the
unfortunate man's coat had been torn from him. His collar flapped under
his ears and a tiny red mark was observable on one cheek.

"Oh!" gasped the Kingsbridge girls.

"Wha-a-at are they fighting about?" gasped Mollie, her face pale with
excitement, perhaps mingled with a little fear.

"They aren't fighting." Ruth had to place her lips close to the ears of
her companion to make herself heard. "They are buying and selling. That
is the way business is done on the floor of the Pit. See! There is
father!"

The girls gazed wide-eyed. Mr. Stuart had projected himself into the
maelstrom of excited traders. He, like the rest, was waving his arms and
shouting. A group of excited men instantly surrounded him. He was for
the moment the centre of attention, for Robert Stuart was one of the
largest and most successful traders on the Chicago Board of Trade. The
battle waged furiously about him, while the "Automobile Girls" gazed in
fascinated awe upon the strange, exciting scene.

All at once a gong sounded. The tension seemed to snap. Men who had been
fighting and shouting suddenly ceased their activities. The bodies of
some grew limp, as it were. Some staggered. Others walked from the floor
laughing and chatting. Out of the crowds strode a man--a young man.
What first attracted the attention of the girls to him was a bandage
about his head. He was walking straight toward them, though on the floor
below.