l acquaintances.

Then, her companion becoming importunate for departure, she declined tea
in the hall and went away with him.

Archie was enjoying himself hugely.

"Now, where would you like to go for tea?" he asked as they drove away.

"I don't care in the least," she said, "only I'm nearly dead. Let it be
somewhere close at hand."

Archie promptly decided in favour of a tea-shop in St. Paul's
Churchyard.

"I suppose you have read the morning papers?" he said, as they sat down.
"I thought your husband had something up his sleeve."

"What do you mean?" queried Nina quickly. "No, I know nothing."

Archie laughed.

"Don't you really? Well, he has made a few thousands sit up, I can tell
you. You've heard of the Crawley gold fields? Heaven knows where they
are, but that doesn't matter--somewhere in Australia of course. No one
knew anything about them till recently. Well, they were boomed
tremendously a little while ago. Your husband was the prime mover. He
went in for them largely. Everyone went for them. They held for a bit,
then your husband began to sell as fast as he could. And then, of
course, the shares went down to zero. People waited a bit, then
sold--for what they could get. No one knew who did the buying till
yesterday. My dear Nina, your husband has bought the lot. He has got the
whole concern into his hands for next to nothing. The gold fields have
turned up trumps. They stand three times as high as they ever did
before. He was behind the scenes. He merely sold to create a slump. If
he chose to sell again he could command almost any price he cared to
ask. Well, one man's loss is another man's gain. But he's as rich as
Croesus. They say there are a good many who would like to be at his
throat."

Nina listened with disgust undisguised on her face.

"How I loathe money!" she said abruptly.

"Oh, I say!" protested Archie. "You're not such an extremist as that.
Think of the host of good things that can't be done without it."

"What good things does he do?" she demanded contemptuously. "He simply
lives to heap up wealth."

"You can't say for certain that he doesn't do a few decent things when
no one's looking," suggested Archie, who liked to be fair, even to those
for whom he felt no liking. "People--rich men like that--do, you know.
Why, only last night I heard of a man--he's a West End physician--who
runs a sort of private hospital somewhere in the back slums, and
actually goes and practises there