dea of it," Sir George said, as he shook
hands. "You have been good enough to advise me once or twice, and I
thought I would come over this morning and consult you about a worry of
my own. I came on the off-chance, and esteem myself fortunate to find
you at home."

"Oh, not at all, not at all," Copley said breezily. "In fact, I was
coming to see you. My conscience has been pricking me, and I feel I have
been very rude. But come into the library and tell me all about it. I'll
help you if I can."

"You are exceedingly good," Sir George said gratefully. "I have had a
most unpleasant shock this morning. It has to do with those people,
Absalom & Co. They tell me you have transferred my debt to them. I can't
understand it."

Copley shook his head as he motioned his visitor to a chair. He passed
over the cigars to Sir George, and sat down to listen in an attitude of
respectful attention.

"No, you wouldn't understand these things," he explained. "It is only
the man of hard business training and instinct that can follow the
ramifications of modern finance. Finance is a fascinating sport with
substantial gains for the successful man, but Heaven help him who fails.
He is bound to go to the wall, and no one has the slightest mercy for
him. It is almost a truism to say that we are at war with one another.
Though outwardly on good terms, we really are the bitterest enemies. It
is part of the game. I go and stay with other financiers, and they come
and stay with me. We drink each other's wine and smoke each other's
cigars. We share grouse moors and yachts, we even marry each other's
daughters. But, at the same time, it is everybody for himself. That is
one of the recognized rules, and if you go under you may become a clerk
or something of that kind, unless you prefer to blow out your brains. It
is all the same in the City. I tell you this, so that you may understand
what a lot of enemies one makes when one embarks in a new venture. It is
a mistake to imagine that all the money the successful man makes comes
from the public. Every time I make a quarter of a million, some of my
friends must suffer. I have a very big thing on at present, and thought
I had guarded myself at all points. But man is only human, and it is
impossible to foresee everything. Two of my cleverest friends spotted
the weak point in my armour, and were not slow to take their
opportunity. They squeezed me to such an extent that, about a fortnight
ago, they very