He was so occupied with his own thoughts that he did not notice two
gentlemen who came in from the bar, and taking seats a little
distant from him, ordered drinks from the waiter who came to attend
to them. They were both in evening dress, and had apparently left
the opera in order to talk business, for they kept conversing
eagerly, and their voices striking on Vandeloup's ear he glanced
round at them and then relapsed into his former inattentive
position. Now, however, though apparently absorbed in his own
thoughts, he was listening to every word they said, for he had
caught the name of The Magpie Reef, a quartz mine, which had lately
been floated on the market, the shares of which had run up to a
pound, and then, as bad reports were circulated about it, dropped
suddenly to four shillings. Vandeloup recognised one as Barraclough,
a well-known stockbroker, but the other was a dark, wiry-looking man
of medium height, whom he had never seen before.
'I tell you it's a good thing,' said Barraclough, vehemently laying
his hand on the table; 'Tollerby is the manager, and knows
everything about it.'
'Gad, he ought to,' retorted the other with a laugh, 'if he's the
manager; but I don't believe in it, dear boy, I never did; it
started with a big splash, and was going to be a second Long Tunnel
according to the prospectus; now the shares are only four shillings-
-pshaw!'
'Yes, but you forget the shares ran up to a pound,' replied
Barraclough, quickly; 'and now they are so cheap we can snap them up
all over the market, and then--'
'Well?' asked the other, with interest.
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