Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 26 Urgent Inquiry

“Mr. Michael Hennessy!” Larry crouched down next to Mr. Hennessy’s seat and called out softly.

The old man was completely unaware at first, but soon he was awakened by Larry's repeated urging.

"Oh...what is it, child!"

Mr. Hennessy is 65 years old. His mind isn't very sharp to begin with, and he's also prone to sleepiness. This morning, when he arrived at Paine Weber Securities, he felt the oppressive warmth of the trading floor and started dozing off in his seat.

Looking at the bewildered Mr. Hennessy, Larry's face was serious. He leaned close to the old man's ear and whispered,
"Have you heard? Mr. Klein has a ship that apparently struck an iceberg near Newfoundland..."

Mr. Hennessy had just been woken up, and his mind was already blank. When he heard Larry's whisper, a look of confusion and helplessness appeared on his face.

Who am I? Where am I? Who is Klein? Whose ship was hit?
The old man pondered for a long time before muttering Larry's words repeatedly.
"You mean, Mr. Klein's ship hit an iceberg? Is that true?"

Larry had been waiting for this very sentence. He pretended to have heard the old man's order and immediately said loudly, "Yes, sir! I will inquire with headquarters on your behalf."

Larry's sudden loud voice made Mr. Hennessy a little uncomfortable. He paused for a moment, then nodded and muttered something under his breath.
"Yes, you should ask. It's almost Christmas, God help us, and hope nothing bad happens."

The old man and Larry's conversation caught the attention of several people around them, but no one heard exactly what they said. It seemed that Mr. Hennessy had asked Larry to inquire about something.

Larry didn't hesitate any longer. He turned around and went to the front desk manager's desk, and respectfully said to him,
“Mr. Wallace, just now, Mr. Michael Hennessy, a respected gentleman in our branch, asked me to inquire with the company headquarters about an unverified message.”

The burly receptionist stopped writing, looked up, and frowned, asking, "What news?"

The front desk manager thought Larry was speaking a bit too loudly today.

But Larry continued in his loud voice to the front desk manager, "Mr. Hennessy has heard that a European Express cargo ship ran aground and sank near Newfoundland. He wants to verify with company headquarters whether this is just a rumor or an officially announced fact!"

After hearing Larry's account, the front desk manager's expression immediately turned serious. He stood up, looked at Mr. Hennessy sitting there, and asked loudly,
"Sir, are you asking if any ships have struck icebergs and sunk?"

The old man's eyes were a little glazed over. He heard the front desk manager's question and quickly nodded.
"Yes, Christmas is almost here."

Larry's conversation with Hennessy, Larry's conversation with the front desk manager, and the front desk manager's conversation with Hennessy were all heard by those around them. In this trading hall with few customers, almost all the customers and employees of Paine Weber Securities heard the news.

The first reaction everyone had was, "Did a ship in the European Express really hit an iceberg?"
Michael Hennessy was among the first professors at MIT after the American Civil War, and was respected for his profound knowledge and noble character. His keen interest in the sinking of the transport ship after colliding with an iceberg is certainly not unfounded.

The front desk manager nimbly walked to the telegraph room and began sending telegrams to the New York headquarters to inquire about the matter;
Among the customers in the trading hall were gentlemen who knew Mr. Klein and planned to ask him personally for confirmation later.
Of course, there were also the employees of Paine Weber Securities, who began to discuss this explosive news privately, and as the rumors passed through many people's ears and mouths, they automatically generated even more bizarre new versions.

"One of the largest cargo ships in the European Express has been confirmed to have sunk in the North Atlantic!"

"Mr. Klein's only cruise ship has sunk, and more than 1000 passengers and crew members on board have been confirmed to have encountered a maritime disaster."

"It is said that Mr. Klein was on the cruise ship himself, and with his death, there will be a major dispute over the equity of Continental Express..."

...Rumors began to spread like a virus, originating from the Paine Weber Securities branch.

The clerks in the trading hall would then relay this firsthand insider information to more people, either as a friendly reminder or as a free gift.

However, there is one thing to be comforted by: at that time, there were countless such bizarre and absurd rumors circulating in society, so much so that people who heard these news only regarded the "European Express ship hitting an iceberg and sinking" as gossip to pass the time, and no one really took it seriously.

As the instigator, Larry felt a little guilty. However, the thought that even legitimate news agencies often fabricated such false and unverified news in newspapers eased his guilt somewhat.

Meanwhile, the other "instigator," Mr. Michael Hennessy, had already fallen into a deep sleep again amidst the buzzing discussions in the business hall.

In the present day, the telegraph has become the most common means of communication between different regions.

In the telegraph room of Paine Webber Securities, a young man from Cambridge was meticulously and rapidly sending telegrams.

The information was converted into Morse code and transmitted thousands of miles away, and then translated back into text and transmitted to the company headquarters.

25 minutes later, the company headquarters sent back a message.

"We have not received any relevant information, nor can we verify the rumors. We request that our colleagues in the Boston branch contact Mr. Klein himself for confirmation."

The ball was kicked back to Mr. Wallace, the front desk manager, who hesitated as he held the telegram, feeling that this message was not enough to give Mr. Hennessy a satisfactory explanation.

So the front desk manager sent a young clerk from the sales department to meet Mr. Klein in person with a handwritten letter from him.

Of course, at this point, it's impossible to say that Mr. Michael Hennessy wants to know.

Wallace cleverly concealed a bit of the truth, writing in the letter that the reason for the inquiry was, "The headquarters of Paine Weber Securities Company requests the Boston branch to verify an unproven rumor."

After all, that's the truth.

When the young man set off, it was already 3 p.m., and the afternoon session of the stock market had already ended.

Larry had seen the signal he wanted to see: in the last ten minutes of the market quotes, Continental Express's stock price had begun to break down.

On that day, Continental Express's last share price was $4.05, which was the lowest price the stock had reached in the past seven months.

Larry looked at the latest quote from Continental Express that he had copied down by hand, still feeling conflicted.

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(End of this chapter)