Frank soon picked up all of the technicalities of the situation.  A “bull,” he learned, was one who bought in anticipation of a higher price to come; and if he was “loaded up” with a “line” of stocks he was said to be “long.”  He sold to “realize” his profit, or if his margins were exhausted he was “wiped out.”  A “bear” was one who sold stocks which most frequently he did not have, in anticipation of a lower price, at which he could buy and satisfy his previous sales.  He was “short” when he had sold what he did not own, and he “covered” when he bought to satisfy his sales and to realize his profits or to protect himself against further loss in case prices advanced instead of declining.  He was in a “corner” when he found that he could not buy in order to make good the stock he had borrowed for delivery and the return of which had been demanded.  He was then obliged to settle practically at a price fixed by those to whom he and other “shorts” had sold.

He smiled at first at the air of great secrecy and wisdom on the part of the younger men.  They were so heartily and foolishly suspicious.  The older men, as a rule, were inscrutable.  They pretended indifference, uncertainty.  They were like certain fish after a certain kind of bait, however.  Snap! and the opportunity was gone.  Somebody else had picked up what you wanted.  All had their little note-books.  All had their peculiar squint of eye or position or motion which meant “Done!  I take you!” Sometimes they seemed scarcely to confirm their sales or purchases—­they knew each other so well—­but they did.  If the market was for any reason active, the brokers and their agents were apt to be more numerous than if it were dull and the trading indifferent.  A gong sounded the call to trading at ten o’clock, and if there was a noticeable rise or decline in a stock or a group of stocks, you were apt to witness quite a spirited scene.  Fifty to a hundred men would shout, gesticulate, shove here and there in an apparently aimless manner; endeavoring to take advantage of the stock offered or called for.

“Five-eighths for five hundred P. and W.,” some one would call—­Rivers or Cowperwood, or any other broker.

“Five hundred at three-fourths,” would come the reply from some one else, who either had an order to sell the stock at that price or who was willing to sell it short, hoping to pick up enough of the stock at a lower figure later to fill his order and make a little something besides.  If the supply of stock at that figure was large Rivers would probably continue to bid five-eighths.  If, on the other hand, he noticed an increasing demand, he would probably pay three-fourths for it.  If the professional traders believed Rivers had a large buying order, they would probably try to buy the stock before he could at three-fourths, believing they could sell it out to him at a slightly higher price.  The professional traders were, of course, keen students of psychology;