'
'Well, that looks reasonable. What else did he say?'
'He did not say very much more about it, because I told him I should have
to consult you.'
'And why didn't you? On board ship there was one of the best
opportunities we could have had of having a talk with him. In fact, the
whole matter might perhaps have been arranged there.'
'Oh, well, you know, I couldn't talk to you about it, because a certain
circumstance arose, and you spent your time very much in the forward
part of the steamer, sitting on a coil of rope and cursing the universe
generally and yourself in particular'.
'Ah, yes, I remember, of course--yes. Very well, then, you have not seen
young Longworth since, have you?'
'No, I have not.'
'Wouldn't the old gentleman go in for it?'
'His daughter seemed to think he would not, because the amount was
too small.'
'Why couldn't he be got to go into it entirely by himself? If we put the
price up to one hundred thousand pounds or two hundred thousand pounds,
that ought to be large enough for him, if he were playing a lone hand.'
'Well, you see, I don't suppose they thought of going in for it at that,
except as a matter of speculation. Of course, if they intended to buy
some shares, it is not likely they would propose to raise the price from
fifty thousand pounds to two hundred thousand pounds. Young Longworth
spoke of dividing the profit. He claimed that whatever we made on fifty
thousand pounds would be too small to be divided into three.
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