So once more the terrified magnates
crowded into Waterman's office. Once more the funds of the
Government were poured into the banks; and from the banks they came
to Waterman; and within a few minutes after the crisis had
developed, the announcement was made that Dan Waterman would lend
twenty-five million dollars at ten per cent.
So the peril was averted. Brokers upon the floor wept for joy, and
cheers rang through all the Street. A mob of men gathered in front
of Waterman's office, singing a chorus of adulation.
All these events Montague followed day by day. He was passing
through Wall Street that Thursday afternoon, and he heard the crowds
singing. He turned away, bitter and sick at heart. Could a more
tragic piece of irony have been imagined than this--that the man,
who of all men had been responsible for this terrible calamity,
should be heralded before the whole country as the one who averted
it! Could there have been a more appalling illustration of the way
in which the masters of the Metropolis were wont to hoodwink its
blind and helpless population?
There was only one man to whom Montague could vent his feelings;
only one man besides himself who knew the real truth.
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