he Marquis
suggested.

Mr. Dane Montague nodded. First of all, however, he rose to his feet,
promenaded the room, peering into its darker recesses to be sure that
no one was lurking there, opened the door, looked down the passage,
closed it again, and finally returned to his seat. He then dropped his
bomb.

"I am in possession," he announced solemnly, "of an undertaking from
the owner of the Empress Music Hall to sell me the property."

"For how much?" Jacob asked.

"For fifty thousand pounds, including the freehold. Hush! Not another
word for the moment."

The butler entered with coffee and liqueurs, and the Marquis directed
the conversation into other channels. As soon as they were alone
again, Mr. Montague leaned forward across the table, his cigar in the
corner of his mouth.

"You mustn't ask too many questions about this, Pratt," he enjoined.
"The undertaking was given to me in a fit of temper after a family
row, and with the sole view of spiting others. The date fixed for the
completion of the sale is to-morrow. I have contributed half the
purchase money myself. The remainder has been distributed amongst my
own friends, and it has been my privilege to allow the Marquis and
some of his relatives to acquire an interest. To make up the full
amount, a sum of seven thousand pounds is required. This I can get
from a dozen people as soon as the office is open in the City
to-morrow morning, but I promised the Marquis here to give him a
chance of placing this amount also with one of his friends. I must
confess," Mr. Montague went on candidly, "that I took that to mean one
of his--er--personal friends--perhaps one of the family. I have been
trying to keep the thing out of the City as much as possible."

"My acquaintance with Mr. Pratt," the Marquis confessed, "is not of
long date, but my son has enjoyed his friendship for some time, and he
seems likely to become, if I may say so, a--er--a friend of the
family."

The financier's smile was meant to be waggish.

"I fancied that I detected indications of the sort," he declared.

"Have you any documents?" Jacob asked.

"I have the undertaking to sell," Mr. Montague replied, "signed, of
course, by Peter. Also a letter from a well-known firm of solicitors,
who have examined the undertaking to sell, pronouncing it legal. I can
also, if you like, supply you with a list of the contributors."

Jacob accepted the documents and studied them. The undertaking to sell
the