would stand by until daylight if necessary, therefore sit down."
"You have made me regret I came. I won't stop longer."
"Very well, answer me one question."
"What is it?"
"How many men do you know in London to-night who will give you twenty-six thousand pounds to-morrow?"
"None."
"If that's the case, Peter, you should treat me gently. Give me time to recover my admiration for the tactics of the Great Southern Railway, and please remember that I am a large shareholder in that road. I own twenty thousand shares of stock, so, in spite of your Scottish rigidity, do show a little compassion for the man who expects his twenty thousand shares to increase in value because of the manipulation you have just explained. Sit down, Peter, with the one man who is able and willing to lend you all you ask, and, believe me, it is only reasonable that I should require some inkling of what you propose to do when you obtain the money. There is no use of babbling about security when you have nothing tangible to offer; nothing that any banker in the City would look at for a moment. Then don't be so cursedly impatient. For the last time I ask you to sit down and reply to a few questions."
