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.