alarm, but he motioned him back.

"I was only laughing," he explained.

Hardy repressed his annoyance by an effort, and endeavoured, but with
scant success, to return the other's smile.

"Go on," said the shipbroker, presently.

"I have thought of a scheme for upsetting Nugent's marriage," said Hardy,
slowly.

"It is just a forlorn hope which depends for its success on you and
Nathan Smith."

"He's a friend of Kybird's," said the other, drily.

"That is the most important thing of all," rejoined Hardy. "That is,
next to your shrewdness and tact; everything depends upon you, really,
and whether you can fool Smith. It is a great thing in our favour that
you have been taking him up lately."

"Are you coming to the point or are you not?" demanded the shipbroker.

Hardy looked cautiously round the room, and then, drawing his chair close
to the bed, leaned over the prostrate man and spoke rapidly into his ear.

"What?" cried the astounded Mr. Swann, suddenly sitting up in his bed.
"You--you scoundrel!"

"It's to be done," said Hardy.

"You ghoul!" said the invalid, glaring at him. "Is that the way to talk
to a sick man? You unscrupulous rascal!"

"It'll be amusement for you," pleaded the other, "and if we are
successful it will be the best thing in the end for everybody. Think of
the good you'll do."

"Where you get such rascally ideas from, I can't think," mused the
invalid. "Your father is a straightforward, honest man, and your
partner's uprightness is the talk of Sunwich."

"It doesn't take much to make Sunwich talk," retorted Hardy.

"A preposterous suggestion to make to a man of my standing," said the
shipbroker, ignoring the remark. "If the affair ever leaked out I should
never hear the end of it."

"It can't leak out," said Hardy, "and if it does there is no direct
evidence. They will never really know until you die; they can only
suspect."

"Very well," said the shipbroker, with a half-indulgent, half-humorous
glance. "Anything to get rid of you. It's a crack-brained scheme, and
could only originate with a young man whose affections have weakened his
head--I consent."

"Bravo!" said Hardy and patted him on the back; Mr. Swann referred to the
base of his left lung, and he apologized.

"I'll have to fix it up with Blaikie," said the invalid, lying down
again. "Murchison got two of his best patients last week, so that it
ought to be easy. And besides, he is fond of innocent amuseme