minutes behind time; and to me, who knew so
well his gluttonous despatch of business, and had so frequently admired
his iron punctuality, the fact spoke volumes. The twenty minutes slowly
stretched into an hour; the hour had nearly extended to a second; and I
still sat in my corner of the office, or paced the marble pavement of
the hall, a prey to the most wretched anxiety and penitence. The hour
for lunch was nearly over before I remembered that I had not eaten.
Heaven knows I had no appetite; but there might still be much to do--it
was needful I should keep myself in proper trim, if it were only to
digest the now too probable bad news; and leaving word at the office for
Pinkerton, I sat down to table and called for soup, oysters, and a pint
of champagne.

I was not long set before my friend returned. He looked pale and rather
old, refused to hear of food, and called for tea.

"I suppose all's up?" said I, with an incredible sinking.

"No," he replied; "I've pulled it through, Loudon--just pulled it
through. I couldn't have raised another cent in all 'Frisco. People
don't like it; Longhurst even went back on me; said he wasn't a
three-card-monte man."

"Well, what's the odds?" said I. "That's all we wanted, isn't it?"

"Loudon, I tell you I've had to pay blood for that money," cried my
friend, with almost savage energy and gloom. "It's all on ninety days,
too; I couldn't get another day--not another day. If we go ahead with
this affair, Loudon, you'll have to go yourself and make the fur fly.
I'll stay, of course--I've got to stay and face the trouble in this
city; though, I tell you, I just long to go. I would show these fat
brutes of sailors what work was; I would be all through that wreck and
out at the other end, before they had boosted themselves upon the deck!
But you'll do your level best, Loudon; I depend on you for that. You
must be all fire and grit and dash from the word 'go.' That schooner,
and the boodle on board of her, are bound to be here before three
months, or it's B U S T--bust."

"I'll swear I'll do my best, Jim; I'll work double tides," said I. "It
is my fault that you are in this thing, and I'll get you out again, or
kill myself. But what is that you say? 'If we go ahead?' Have we any
choice, then?"

"I'm coming to that," said Jim. "It isn't that I doubt the investment.
Don't blame yourself for that; you showed a fine sound business
instinct: I always knew it was in you, but then it rippe