hen selling very high, in consequence of the
expected consolidation. The defeat of the bill would, of course, cause
it to fall immediately. The unprincipled legislators at once commenced a
shrewd game. They sold Harlem right and left, to be delivered at a
future day, and found plenty of purchasers. They let their friends into
the secret, and there was soon a great deal of "selling 'short'" in this
stock.[A] Commodore Vanderbilt, although indignant at the treachery of
which he was to be made the victim, held his peace. He went into the
market quietly, with all the funds he could raise, purchased every
dollar's worth of Harlem stock he could lay his hands on, and locked it
up in his safe. When the bill came before the Legislature on its final
passage, the members who had pledged themselves to vote for it voted
against it, and it was rejected.

[Footnote A: For the benefit of the uninitiated reader, we will explain
the "game" more clearly. Harlem stock was selling at a high price, in
consequence of the expected consolidation. Those who sold "short" at
this time sold at the market price, which, as we have said, was high. By
engaging to deliver at some future day, they expected to be able to buy
the stock for little or nothing after the defeat of the bill, and then
to demand for it the price for which they had sold it in the first
place. Such a transaction was infamous, but would have enabled those
engaged in it to realize immense sums by the difference in the price of
the stock.]

The speculators were jubilant. They were sure that the defeat of the
bill would bring down "Harlem" with a rush. To their astonishment,
however, "Harlem" did not fall. It remained stationary the first day,
and then, to their dismay, began to rise steadily. Those to whom they
had sold demanded the delivery of the stock, but the speculators found
it impossible to buy it. There was none in the market at any price.
Being unable to deliver stock, they were forced to pay its equivalent in
money, and the result was, that all who were engaged in the infamous
scheme were ruined. One of the shrewdest operators in New York lost over
two hundred thousand dollars. He refused to pay, but his name was at
once stricken from the list of stock-brokers. This brought him to terms,
and he made good his contracts. Vanderbilt made enough money out of this
effort to crush him to pay for all the stock he owned in the Harlem
Road.

During the rebellion, Commodore Vand