“Yes, I s’pose you ain’t afraid of bulls and bears,–are you?”
“Bulls and bears?” repeated Frank, puzzled.
“Yes.”
“What are they?”
“The bulls is what tries to make the stocks go up, and the bears is what try to growl ’em down.”
“Oh, I see. Yes, I’d like to go.”
Accordingly they walked down on the west side of Broadway as far as Trinity Church, and then, crossing, entered a street not very wide or very long, but of very great importance. The reader would be astonished if he could know the amount of money involved in the transactions which take place in a single day in this street. It would be found that although Broadway is much seater in length, and lined with stores, it stands second to Wall Street in this respect.
“What is that large marble building?” asked Frank, pointing to a massive structure on the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets. It was in the form of a parallelogram, two hundred feet long by ninety wide, and about eighty feet in height, the ascent to the entrance being by eighteen granite steps.
“That’s the Custom House,” said Dick.
“It looks like pictures I’ve seen of the Parthenon at Athens,” said Frank, meditatively.
“Where’s Athens?” asked Dick. “It ain’t in York State,–is it?”
“Not the Athens I mean, at any rate. It is in Greece, and was a famous city two thousand years ago.”
“That’s longer than I can remember,” said Dick. “I can’t remember distinctly more’n about a thousand years.”
“What a chap you are, Dick! Do you know if we can go in?”
The boys ascertained, after a little inquiry, that they would be allowed to do so. They accordingly entered the Custom House and made their way up to the roof, from which they had a fine view of the harbor, the wharves crowded with shipping, and the neighboring shores of Long Island and New Jersey. Towards the north they looked down for many miles upon continuous lines of streets, and thousands of roofs, with here and there a church-spire rising above its neighbors. Dick had never before been up there, and he, as well as Frank, was interested in the grand view spread before them.
At length they descended, and were going down the granite steps on the outside of the building, when they were addressed by a young man, whose appearance is worth describing.
He was tall, and rather loosely put together, with small eyes and rather a prominent nose. His clothing had evidently not been furnished by a city tailor. He wore a blue coat with brass buttons, and pantaloons of rather scanty dimensions, which were several inches too short to cover his lower limbs. He held in his hand a piece of paper, and his countenance wore a look of mingled bewilderment and anxiety.
“Be they a-payin’ out money inside there?” he asked, indicating the interior by a motion of his hand.
“I guess so,” said Dick. “Are you a-goin’ in for some?”
“Wal, yes. I’ve got an order here for sixty dollars,–made a kind of speculation this morning.”
“How was it?” asked Frank.
“Wal, you see I brought down some money to put in the bank, fifty dollars it was, and I hadn’t justly made up my mind what bank to put it into, when a chap came up in a terrible hurry, and said it was very unfortunate, but the bank wasn’t open, and he must have some money right off. He was obliged to go out of the city by the next train. I asked him how much he wanted. He said fifty dollars. I told him I’d got that, and he offered me a check on the bank for sixty, and I let him have it. I thought that was a pretty easy way to earn ten dollars, so I counted out the money and he went off. He told me I’d hear a bell ring when they began to pay out money. But I’ve waited most two hours, and I hain’t heard it yet. I’d ought to be goin’, for I told dad I’d be home to-night. Do you think I can get the money now?”