's income.

It irritated him when he thought how careless the head of the firm was
in money matters. Alan appeared to regard the brewery as a huge
concern from which he could drain money as freely as beer ran into the
casks. He made up his mind to talk seriously to Alan; he had a high
opinion of his judgment and intelligence when he cared to exert those
qualities. He expected him to arrive in half an hour and knew what to
expect. Alan would rush up in his motor, say he had only a few minutes
to spare, then dash off again as he arrived--in a hurry.

The head of the firm was always in a hurry; never seemed to have a
minute to spare; the "racing rush" took hold of him. Duncan Fraser
smiled grimly as he thought how Alan careered about the country in
pursuit of his favorite pastime.

"Here he is," said Duncan, as he heard the powerful motor stop, and
thud.

Alan came into the room in a hurry. He was not in the best of humors;
why the deuce couldn't Fraser manage without dragging him there? He
had carte blanche as to how he should act.

"Suppose you'll not keep me long," said Alan impatiently.

"Longer than usual," was the reply.

"Hang it all, I want to go to the races this afternoon. You must cut
it short, please, Fraser."

"This is more important than racing; I have just received some valuable
information from Berlin."

Alan became interested.

"Berlin!" he exclaimed. "What's up there?"

"War; it will break out before long."

"Who is your informant?"

Fraser handed him the letter.

"Read that," he said.

Alan did so.

"By Jove!" he exclaimed. "This looks serious. Can you rely upon it?"

"Yes," said Fraser, with a characteristic snap of his firm lips.

Alan put the letter down and a gloomy look settled on his face.

"War," he said, "and I'll be out of it, confound the thing! I'm sorry
I don't hold a commission."

"I am not. You can't be in the army and look after things here," said
Fraser.

"You look after them. It's no use trying to convince me I'm necessary
to the existence of the firm, because I'm not; I haven't the governor's
capacity for business," said Alan.

"I don't know so much about that; you've never been properly tested."

Alan laughed.

"And have no desire to be," he said.

"I have drawn up some figures; they are formidable. If you agree to my
plans, and war breaks out, we shall save hundreds of thousands of
pounds. It means a tremendous outlay, but it's worth i