market to-morrow and try to
buy Northern Consolidated. An attempt to buy five hundred shares will
put it up ten points."

The next day, Saturday, the pool sent quietly into the Exchange to buy
one thousand shares; that, by way of feeler. The old gray buccaneer was
right; Northern Consolidated climbed fifteen points with the vivacity of
a squirrel, and rested mockingly at fifty-eight. Following this
disheartening experiment, which resulted in nothing more hopeful than a
demand for further margins from the pool's brokers, there were no more
efforts to "buy." The pool was marked for death; but that, while
discouraging, offered no argument in favor of self-destruction.

When the markets opened upon that storm-swept Wednesday, there were
forty brokers on the floor of the Exchange to execute the orders of Mr.
Bayard. Not one of the forty knew of the other thirty-nine; not one was
aware of Mr. Bayard in the business of the day. Thirty as a maximum had
been commissioned to buy--each man twenty thousand shares--six hundred
thousand shares of Northern Consolidated. The orders had come through
banks in the city, and from banks and brokerages in London, Paris,
Berlin, and a dozen points in Europe. They ran from five hundred to as
high as twelve thousand shares the order. Each broker was given a
certain limit below which he might buy, and the orders of no two were in
conflict. Each for his orders would have the unobstructed market to
himself.

Mr. Bayard arranged for that fall of eleven points; the "bear" raid must
seem to have effect to encourage the pool. To thus foster the pool in
its hopes, ten of the forty were to "sell" Northern Consolidated in
limited lots; these sales should augment "bear" enthusiasm.

In each instance the stock thus offered was taken by one of Mr. Bayard's
brokers, who little imagined that both he and the broker selling drew
their inspirations from the same source. As demonstrating the finesse of
Mr. Bayard, if one had collected from the forty those orders which they
brought upon the floor that Wednesday morning, and spread them on a
table, they would have exhibited a perfect picture of speculation. One
would have fitted with another, and each in its proper place, until the
whole was like a mosaic of defense. The "bear" pool was met on the
threshold; it was permitted to press forward eighth by eighth according
to a plan; one Bayard broker having made his purchases, another took his
place; it was like c