Company.

"Eh?"

"I put the money into the Company, I tell you, against your advice.
The Company is more or less a swindle."

Bones sat down slowly in his chair and assumed his most solemn and
business-like face.

"Of course, it keeps within the law, but it's a swindle, none the less.
They've got a wretched broken-down factory somewhere in the North, and
the only Plover car that's ever been built was made by a Scottish
contractor at a cost of about twice the amount which the Company people
said that they would charge for it."

"What did I say?" said Bones quietly. "Poor old soul, I do not give
advice without considering matters, especially to my dearest friend. A
company like this is obviously a swindle. You can tell by the
appearance of the cars----"

"There was only one car ever made," interrupted Hamilton.

"I should have said car," said the unperturbed Bones. "The very
appearance of it shows you that the thing is a swindle from beginning
to end. Oh, why did you go against my advice, dear old Ham? Why did
you?"

"You humbug!" said the wrathful Hamilton. "You were just this minute
apologising for giving me advice."

"That," said Bones cheerfully, "was before I'd heard your story. Yes,
Ham, you've been swindled." He thought a moment. "Four thousand
pounds!"

And his jaw dropped.

Bones had been dealing in large sums of late, and had forgotten just
the significance of four thousand pounds to a young officer. He was
too much of a little gentleman to put his thoughts into words, but it
came upon him like a flash that the money which Hamilton had invested
in the Plover Light Car Company was every penny he possessed in the
world, a little legacy he had received just before Bones had left the
Coast, plus all his savings for years.

"Ham," he said hollowly, "I am a jolly old rotter! Here I've been
bluffing and swanking to you when I ought to have been thinking out a
way of getting things right."

Hamilton laughed.

"I'm afraid you're not going to get things right, Bones," he said.
"The only thing I did think was that you might possibly know something
about this firm."

At any other moment Bones would have claimed an extensive acquaintance
with the firm and its working, but now he shook his head, and Hamilton
sighed.

"Sanders told me to come up and see you," he said. "Sanders has great
faith in you, Bones."

Bones went very red, coughed, picked up his long-plumed pen and put it
down aga