the present instance he had
intended to engage himself in the more unfamiliar occupation of offering
a partnership to Merry Thatcher in the "Cosden Social Development
Company, Limited," although he had not expressed it to himself in just
these words. In this expectation he had so far signally failed. Had he
been a baron of old he might have seized the prospective bride bodily
and made off with her to his ancestral castle, but, even with the
handicap imposed by modern civilization, now that the diverting
influence had been eliminated, he believed the opportunity was nearer to
the point of offering itself. The fact that Thatcher had turned to him
in this proposition, whatever it was, not only pleased him as a further
evidence of recognition, but supplied him with an agreeable outlet for
his pent-up energy.

Cosden had told Huntington that Thatcher was a "big man," and his
friend, having learned his business vocabulary, understood what was
meant by this designation: Thatcher was a man of substantial means, held
influential positions on important boards, and wielded a power in the
financial circles in which he moved. Cosden had been far-sighted, he
told himself, to have happened upon the scene at this particular
juncture, for Thatcher would scarcely have gone out of his way to invite
him to join in the enterprise except for the coincidence of their
meeting; and Cosden was not averse to being included in the Thatcher
group of operators.

Thatcher was awaiting him on the lower piazza when he arrived at the
"Hamilton."

"I wanted to have a few words with you before we join this promoter
person up-stairs," he explained, "so I sent Stevens on ahead to tell him
we are on our way. Duncan is the man's name. He's a Scotchman who has
lived down here for many years. He has little education, and you could
cut his brogue with a knife."

"I won't object to his brogue if his signature is any good at the foot
of a check," Cosden interrupted.

"He doesn't come in on that end," Thatcher continued. "The idea is his,
and he can be of service later on if we proceed with it. It isn't very
large, and we can finance it easily if the thing is worth taking up at
all. The scheme is to fit Bermuda out with a trolley system, and to
bring the right tidy little island down to the twentieth century."

"Not a bad suggestion," Cosden commented,--"and a great improvement upon
the present system of bicycling." Billy would have rejoiced had he known
h