the Life Assurances without loans; the common
policies. Very profitable, very comfortable. Money down, you know;
repeated every year; capital fun!'

'But when they begin to fall in,' observed Jonas. 'It's all very well,
while the office is young, but when the policies begin to die--that's
what I am thinking of.'

'At the first start, my dear fellow,' said Montague, 'to show you how
correct your judgment is, we had a couple of unlucky deaths that brought
us down to a grand piano.'

'Brought you down where?' cried Jonas.

'I give you my sacred word of honour,' said Tigg Montague, 'that I
raised money on every other individual piece of property, and was left
alone in the world with a grand piano. And it was an upright-grand too,
so that I couldn't even sit upon it. But, my dear fellow, we got over
it. We granted a great many new policies that week (liberal allowance
to solicitors, by the bye), and got over it in no time. Whenever they
should chance to fall in heavily, as you very justly observe they may,
one of these days; then--' he finished the sentence in so low a whisper,
that only one disconnected word was audible, and that imperfectly. But
it sounded like 'Bolt.'

'Why, you're as bold as brass!' said Jonas, in the utmost admiration.

'A man can well afford to be as bold as brass, my good fellow, when he
gets gold in exchange!' cried the chairman, with a laugh that shook him
from head to foot. 'You'll dine with me to-morrow?'

'At what time?' asked Jonas.

'Seven. Here's my card. Take the documents. I see you'll join us!'

'I don't know about that,' said Jonas. 'There's a good deal to be looked
into first.'

'You shall look,' said Montague, slapping him on the back, 'into
anything and everything you please. But you'll join us, I am convinced.
You were made for it. Bullamy!'

Obedient to the summons and the little bell, the waistcoat appeared.
Being charged to show Jonas out, it went before; and the voice within it
cried, as usual, 'By your leave there, by your leave! Gentleman from the
board-room, by your leave!'

Mr Montague being left alone, pondered for some moments, and then said,
raising his voice:

'Is Nadgett in the office there?'

'Here he is, sir.' And he promptly entered; shutting the board-room door
after him, as carefully as if he were about to plot a murder.

He was the man at a pound a week who made the inquiries. It was no
virtue or merit in Nadgett that he transacted all his Anglo-B