Bones in London

Another silence.

"What did Bones say to you?"

"He told me he wouldn't do any more business with you."

"Good Heavens!" groaned Pole, and added, "Gracious Heavens!"

"Why, what's the matter?" asked de Vinne quickly, scenting danger.

"That's what he said to me," moaned the other. "Just hang on. I'll beround in a quarter of an hour."

Mr. Fred Pole arrived under that time, and had a dreadful story tounfold. At nine o'clock that evening Bones had called upon him and hadoffered to buy his shares. But Bones had said he would not under anycircumstances —

"Buy my shares?" said de Vinne quickly.

"Well, he didn't exactly say that," said Fred. "But he gave me tounderstand that he'd rather buy the shares from me than from anybodyelse, and I thought it was such an excellent idea, and I could fix itup with you on the telephone, so I sold him – "

"How many?" wailed de Vinne.

"A hundred and fifty thousand," said Mr. Fred, and the two men staredat one another.

De Vinne licked his dry lips.

"It comes to this," he said. "Between us we've sold him three hundredand thirty thousand shares. There are only two hundred and fiftythousand shares issued, so we've got to deliver eighty thousand sharesthat are non-existent or be posted as defaulters."

Another long pause, and then both men said simultaneously, as thoughthe thought had struck them for the first time:

"Why, the fellow's a rogue!"

The next morning they called upon Bones, and they were with him forhalf an hour; and when they went, they left behind them, not only thecheques that Bones had given them, but another cheque for a mostsubstantial amount as consideration.

That night Bones gave a wonderful dinner-party at the most expensivehotel in London. Sanders was there, and Patricia Sanders, andHamilton, and a certain Vera, whom the bold Bones called by herChristian name, but the prettiest of the girls was she who sat on hisright and listened to the delivery of Bones's great speech in fear andtrembling.

"The toast of the evening, dear old friends," said Bones, "is Cupidityand Cupid. Coupled with the names of the Honourable de Vinne and myyoung and lovely typewriter – my friend and companion in storm andstress, the only jolly old lady, if I may be allowed to say so, thathas stirred my young heart" – he caught Patricia Sanders's accusing eye, coughed, and added – "in Europe!"

THE END