"Very good, sir."

This arranged, Caesar went to the main door and saw that the Minister's
motor was headed for down town. Immediately he took a carriage and went
to the Chamber. The undersecretary of the Speaker was a friend of his;
sometimes he gave him advice about playing the market.

Caesar looked him up, and when he found him, said:

"How are we getting on?"

"All right, man," replied the undersecretary.

"Come over here, so I can see you in the light," said Caesar, and taking
him by the hand, he looked into his eyes.

"It's true," said the undersecretary, laughing, "that the situation is
not very strong."

"What is the danger?"

"The only danger is your friend, the famous financier. He is the one who
could play us a dirty trick."

"Do you suspect what it could be?" "No. Not clearly. You must know
better than any one else."

"I have just seen the Minister, and he gave me the impression of being
satisfied."

"Then everything is all right. But I haven't much confidence."

Caesar left the undersecretary, went out of the Chamber, and returned
home in the carriage. Alzugaray was waiting in the entry for him.

Caesar called to him from the carriage:

"I am going to Paris," he told him, "to spend a few days."

"Good."

"I must draw out what money I have in the Bank."

"Let's go there now."

They went to the Bank, to the paying teller, and Caesar drew out twenty
thousand pesetas of his few months' winnings on the market.

"You are not going to play at all, this month?" asked Alzugaray.

"No, not this month."

They left the Bank.

"I will wire you my address in Paris," said Caesar.

"Very good. And nothing is to be done?"

"No. That is to say, my partner and I are not going to play.
Nevertheless, I am going to leave you two thousand pesetas, and if you
think well, you can use it as you choose."

"All right," said Alzugaray, pleased at Caesar's confidence in his
talents for speculation.

"In case I need any information which had best not be public," Caesar
went on, "I will wire you in code. Do you know the Aran code?"

"No."

"I will give it to you, directly, at my house. If you receive a telegram
from me from Paris, beginning with your name: 'Ignacio, do thus or so,'
you will know it is in the code."

"I follow you. What's up?"

"An affair the Minister is putting through, which we will not let him
pull off without getting our share out of him. I will explain it to you,
when I co