four
o'clock
The failure of their London agents had suddenly brought a heavy loss upon them , and the circumstance leaking out had caused a sudden and most dangerous run upon their establishment . Urgent telegrams for bullion from all their forty branches poured in at the very instant when the head office was crowded with anxious clients all waving their deposit-books , and clamouring for their money . Bravely did the two brothers with their staff stand with smiling faces behind the shining counter , while swift messengers sped and telegrams flashed to draw in all the available resources of the bank . All day the stream poured through the office , and when four o'clock came , and the doors were closed for the day , the street without was still blocked by the expectant crowd , while there remained scarce a thousand pounds of bullion in the cellars . `` It is only postponed . Louis , '' said brother Rupert despairingly , when the last clerk had left the office , and when at last they could relax the fixed smile upon their haggard faces . `` Those shutters will never come down again , '' cried brother Louis , and the two suddenly burst out sobbing in each other 's arms , not for their own griefs , but for the miseries which they might bring upon those who had trusted them .