later, Matheson had to leave his wife in the hands of the
doctors in order to attend a brief meeting of the Board of Directors of
Hudson Bay Transport, Ltd.

They were seated in the stately board-room of the London and United
Kingdom Bank in Lombard Street, at one end of the huge oval table over
which the affairs of nations are settled. Clifford Matheson was in the
chair.

The routine business of the meeting had been cleared when a clerk
announced that Mr Larssen wished to enter. Until the allotments had been
made by the other four Directors, he had no legal right to sit at the
board of the company or to take part in any discussion. He now asked
formal permission to enter, and the Directors formally agreed to receive
him.

If they thought to find in Lars Larssen a beaten man, they were greatly
mistaken. He came in with his usual masterful stride, and his eyes met
theirs surely and squarely.

"I've come to hear what's been fixed between you," he said, and took a
seat at the table.

Matheson took up a paper from the bundle before him on the table, and
replied with studied formality: "The applications for shares totalled
L6,714,000 in round figures. Of these, all but L8200 were cancelled by
telegram or letter on the morning of May 3rd."

"As a consequence of your advertisement in the newspaper?"

"Yes. The Board decided to proceed to allotment, and we have accordingly
allotted the applications for 8200 shares. The remainder of the
5,000,000 ordinary shares will have to be taken up and paid for by
yourself under the terms of your underwriting agreement."

"I expected that. I'm ready to carry out my bond."

"As you will see," continued Matheson with the same studied formality
cloaking the irony of his words, "you gain control."

Larssen smiled tolerantly. "That's turned the trick right enough, but
don't flatter yourself that _you_ did it. If it hadn't been for a sheer
accident that no man alive could foresee or prevent, I'd have won hands
down. I haven't been beaten by _you_, and so I don't bear grudge. And
I've no intention of bringing a libel action to gratify your longing for
the limelight. I'll just sit tight and let the Hudson Bay scheme flatten
out to nothing."

He flicked thumb and forefinger together contemptuously. "That Hudson
Bay scheme was chicken-feed. I've bigger than that up my sleeve. What
you've done won't put the stopper on me. Let me tell you, Matheson, that
it will take a better man than you