“Why, I might tell you,” came the smiling retort.
It would be news of great value to many operators to-day to know who was behind the purchase of forty thousand shares of a falling stock. A crowd surged around Coggswell.
“Tell us who your client is,” dared the same “bear,” while the size of the gaping crowd increased. A hush had again fallen over everything.
“My principal client——” began Coggswell, then paused, smiling in a tantalizing way.
“Name him!” insisted the same “bear.”
“Yes, name him! Name him!” came the fevered demand from all sides, though probably not one expected the broker to comply.
“My principal client, for whom I just made the big purchase,” announced Broker Coggswell, “is Francis Delavan himself.”
“Francis Delavan?”
The cry was taken up and repeated all over the floor. Scores of men came running to get as near as possible to the talking broker.
“I made that purchase on behalf of the Delavan-Moddridge interests,” continued Coggswell, showing a still smiling face.