dlar, a suave, shrewd man of much versatility, congratulated
himself that he had, at all times during his connection with Jacob,
treated this erstwhile insignificant defaulter with the courtesy which
at least had cost him nothing.

"Most interesting position, yours, Pratt," the man of figures
declared, loitering a little over the final details. "I should like to
talk it over with you sometime. What about a little lunch up in the
West End to-day?"

Jacob shook his head.

"I am lunching with a friend," he said. "Thank you very much, all the
same."

"Some other time, then," Mr. Pedlar continued. "Have you made any
plans at all for the future?"

"None as yet worth speaking of."

"You are a young man," the accountant continued. "You must have
occupation. If the advice of a man of the world is worth having, count
me at your disposal."

"I am very much obliged," Jacob acknowledged.

"I can be considered wholly impartial," Mr. Pedlar went on, "because
I have no direct interest in whatever you may choose to do with your
money, but my advice to you, Mr. Pratt, would be to buy a partnership
in one of the leading firms engaged in the industry with which you
have been associated."

"I see," Jacob reflected. "Go into business again on a larger scale?"

"Exactly," the accountant assented, "only, go into an established
business, with a partner, where you are not too much tied down. You'll
want to enjoy yourself and see a little of the world now. A bungalow
down the river for the summer, eh? A Rolls-Royce, of course, and a
month or so on the Riviera in the winter. Plenty of ways of getting
something out of life, Mr. Pratt, if only one has the means."

Jacob drew a deep sigh and murmured something noncommittal.

"My advice to you," his mentor continued, "would be to enjoy
yourself, get value for your money, but--don't give up work
altogether. With the capital at your command, you could secure an
interest in one of the leading firms in the trade."

"Were you thinking of any one in particular?" Jacob asked quietly.

Mr. Pedlar hesitated.

"To tell you the truth, Mr. Pratt," he admitted candidly, "I was.
I know of a firm at the present moment, one of the oldest and most
respected in the trade--I might almost say the most prominent
firm--who would be disposed to admit into partnership a person of
your standing and capital."

"You don't, by any chance, mean Bultiwell's?"

The accountant's manner became more earnest. He