sitting-room
with a card.

"Show the gentleman up," said Kitson; "it is our friend," he explained.

"And he may know a great deal," said Beale.

Mr. White stalked into the room dangling his glasses with the one hand
and holding his shiny silk hat with the other. He invariably carried his
hat as though it were a rifle he were shouldering.

He bowed ceremoniously and closed the door behind him.

"Mr.--ah--Kitson?" he said, and advanced a big hand. "I received your
note and am, as you will observe, punctual. I may say that my favourite
motto is 'Punctuality is the politeness of princes."

"You know Mr. Beale?"

Mr. White bowed stiffly.

"I have--ah--met Mr. Beale."

"In my unregenerate days," said Beale cheerfully, "but I am quite sober
now."

"I am delighted to learn this," said Mr. White. "I am extremely glad to
learn this."

"Mr. Kitson asked you to come, Mr. White, but really it is I who want to
see you," said Beale. "To be perfectly frank, I learnt that you were in
some slight difficulty."

"Difficulty?" Mr. White bristled. "Me, sir, in difficulty? The head of
the firm of Punsonby's, whose credit stands, sir, as a model of sound
industrial finance? Oh no, sir."

Beale was taken aback. He had depended upon information which came from
unimpeachable sources to secure the co-operation of this pompous
windbag.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I understood that you had called a meeting of
creditors and had offered to sell certain shares in a syndicate which I
had hoped to take off your hands."

Mr. White inclined his head graciously.

"It is true, sir," he said, "that I asked a few--ah--wholesale firms to
meet me and to talk over things. It is also true that I--ah--had shares
which had ceased to interest me, but those shares are sold."

"Sold! Has van Heerden bought them in?" asked Beale eagerly; and Mr.
White nodded.

"Doctor van Heerden, a remarkable man, a truly remarkable man." He shook
his head as if he could not bring himself and never would bring himself
to understand how remarkable a man the doctor was. "Doctor van Heerden
has repurchased my shares and they have made me a very handsome profit."

"When was this?" asked Beale.

"I really cannot allow myself to be cross-examined, young man," he said
severely, "by your accent I perceive that you are of trans-Atlantic
origin, but I cannot allow you to hustle me--hustle I believe is the
word. The firm of Punsonby's----"

"Forget 'em," said Beale terse