w something for repairs and so on at the fresh start.
Well, with purchase of a little new stock, say another hundred and
fifty pounds. Roughly speaking, I ought to have about five hundred
pounds to settle the affair.'

'And you have the money?'

'Not quite; I've got--well, I may say three hundred. I'm not speaking
of my own private income; of course, that goes on as usual, and isn't a
penny too much for--for ordinary expenses..' He fidgeted again. 'Would
you care to know how I made this bit of capital?'

'If you care to tell me.'

'Yes, I will, just to show you what one is driven to do. Two years ago
I was ill--congestion of the lungs--felt sure I should die. You were in
Wales then. I sent for Tripcony, to get him to make my will--he used to
be a solicitor, you know, before he started the bucket-shop. When I
pulled through, Trip came one day and said he had a job for me. You'll
be careful, by-the-bye, not to mention this. The job was to get the
City editor of a certain newspaper (a man I know very well) to print a
damaging rumour about a certain company. You'll wonder how I could
manage this. Well, simply because the son of the chairman of that
company was a sort of friend of mine, and the City editor knew it. If I
could get the paragraph inserted, Tripcony would--not pay me anything,
but give me a tip to buy certain stock which he guaranteed would be
rising. Well, I undertook the job, and I succeeded, and Trip was as
good as his word. I bought as much as I dared--through Trip, mind you,
and he wouldn't let me of the cover, which I thought suspicious, though
it was only habit of business. I bought at 75, and on settling day the
quotation was par. I wanted to go at it again, but Trip shook his head.
Well, I netted nearly five hundred. The most caddish affair I ever was
in; but I wanted money. Stop, that's only half the story. Just at that
time I met a man who wanted to start a proprietary club. He had the
lease of a house near Golden Square, but not quite money enough to
furnish it properly and set the club going. Well, I joined him, and put
in four hundred pounds; and for a year and a half we didn't do badly.
Then there was a smash; the police raided the place one night, and my
partner went before the magistrates. I trembled in my shoes, but my
name was never mentioned. It only ended in a fifty-pound fine, and of
course I went halves. Then we sold the club for two hundred, furniture
and all, and I found myself with-