d, what for repairs, what for a
reserved fund, and what for the small robberies."

The unparalleled coolness of the man had now pushed Bramleigh's patience
to its last limit; but a latent fear of what such a fellow might be in
his enmity, restrained him and compelled him to be cautious.

"What sum do you think the project will require, Mr. Cutbill?"

"I think about eighty thousand; but I'd say one hundred and fifty--it's
always more respectable. Small investments are seldom liked; and then
the margin--the margin is broader."

"Yes, certainly; the margin is much broader."

"Fifty-pound shares, with a call of five every three months, will start
us. The chief thing is to begin with a large hand." Here he made a wide
sweep of his arm.

"For coal like that yonder," said Bramleigh, pointing to the specimen,
"you 'd not get ten shillings the ton."

"Fifteen--fifteen. I'd make it the test of a man's patriotism to use
it. I 'd get the Viceroy to burn it, and the Chief Secretary, and the
Archbishop, and Father Cullen. I 'd heat St. Patrick's with it, and the
national schools. There could be no disguise about it; like the native
whiskey, it would be known by the smell of the smoke."

"You have drawn up some sort of prospectus?"

"Some sort of prospectus! I think I have. There's a document there on
the table might go before the House of Commons this minute; and the
short and the long of it is, Bramleigh"--here he crossed his arms on
the table, and dropped his voice to a tone of great confidence--"it is
a good thing--a right good thing. There 's coal there, of one kind or
other, for five-and-twenty years, perhaps more. The real, I may say,
the only difficulty of the whole scheme will be to keep old Culduff from
running off with all the profits. As soon as the money comes rolling in,
he 'll set off shelling it out; he 's just as wasteful as he was thirty
years ago."

"That will be impossible when a company is once regularly formed."

"I know that,--I know that; but men of his stamp say, 'We know nothing
about trade. We have n't been bred up to office-stools and big ledgers;
and when we want money, we get it how we can.'"

"We can't prevent him selling out or mortgaging his shares. You mean, in
short, that he should not be on the direction?" added he.

"That's it,--that's exactly it," said Cutbill, joyously.

"Will he like that? Will he submit to it?"

"He 'll like whatever promises to put him most speedily into funds