noon
Then , before ` Change opened , we passed the word around through our brokers that there was n't any big short interest left , and to prove it they pointed to the increase in the stocks of Prime Steam in store and gave out the real figures on what was still in transit . By the time the bell rang for trading on the floor we had built the hottest sort of a fire under the market , and thirty minutes after the opening the price of the November option had melted down flat to twelve cents . We gave the bulls a breathing space there , for we knew we had them all nicely rounded up in the killing-pens , and there was no hurry . But on toward noon , when things looked about right , we jumped twenty brokers into the pit , all selling at once and offering in any sized lots for which they could find takers . It was like setting off a pack of firecrackers -- biff ! bang ! bang !