A full quarter of an hour of the panic had spent itself before the dazed crowds in the broker's offices read the startling news that caused the big break. The ticker shrieked its message above the storm's din like a little laughing demon:
"The Van Dam Trust Company Has Closed Its Doors and Asked for the Appointment of a Receiver!"
"Impossible!"
"A fake!"
"Hell—it's a joke!"
From all who read it at first came these muttered exclamations. It was beyond belief.
The "Judge" was particularly emphatic.
"Dot's a lie, chentlemens! Take my vord for it! Dey haf ninety millions on deposit."
It took the second bulletin with particulars to convince them. Bivens had not kept his solemn pledge. The great bank had stood the run for two hours and closed its doors. And the work of destruction had just begun.
At three o'clock, the doctor walked out of Dugro's office without a dollar. It was utterly impossible for a man of his temperament to realize it. The crash had come so suddenly, its work was so complete and overwhelming it seemed a sort of foolish prank Fate had played on him.