tment. On the bench he again met his old friend Rossmore and
the two men once more became closely intimate. The regular court
hours, however, soon palled on a man of Judge Stott's nervous
temperament and it was not long before he retired to take up once
more his criminal practice. He was still a young man, not yet
fifty, and full of vigor and fight. He had a blunt manner but his
heart was in the right place, and he had a record as clean as his
close shaven face. He was a hard worker, a brilliant speaker and
one of the cleverest cross-examiners at the bar. This was the man
to whom Judge Rossmore naturally turned for legal assistance.

Stott was out West when he first heard of the proceedings against
his old friend, and this indignity put upon the only really honest
man in public life whom he knew, so incensed him that he was
already hurrying back to his aid when the summons reached him.

Meantime, a fresh and more serious calamity had overwhelmed Judge
Rossmore. Everything seemed to combine to break the spirit of this
man who had dared defy the power of organized capital. Hardly had
the news of the Congressional inquiry been made public, than the
financial world was startled by an extraordinary slump in Wall
Street. There was nothing in the news of the day to justify a
decline, but prices fell and fell. The bears had it all their own
way, the big interests hammered stocks all along the line,
"coppers" especially being the object of attack. The market closed
feverishly and the next day the same tactics were pursued. From
the opening, on selling orders coming from no one knew where,
prices fell to nothing, a stampede followed and before long it
became a panic. Pandemonium reigned on the floor of the Stock
Exchange. White faced, dishevelled brokers shouted and struggled
like men possessed to execute the orders of their clients. Big
financial houses, which stood to lose millions on a falling
market, rallied and by rush orders to buy, attempted to stem the
tide, but all to no purpose. One firm after another went by the
board unable to weather the tempest, until just before closing
time, the stock ticker announced the failure of the Great
Northwestern Mining Co. The drive in the market had been
principally directed against its securities, and after vainly
endeavoring to check the bear raid, it had been compelled to
declare itself bankrupt. It was heavily involved, assets nil,
stock almost worthless. It was probable that the