A Mysterious Disappearance Part 20

"A policeman!"

"Well, sir, a detective--Mr. White, of Scotland Yard. I knew him, sir, though he did not think it. He came about ten o'clock, and asked where you were."

"Did you tell him?"

"Well, sir," and Smith s.h.i.+fted from one foot to the other, "I thought it best to let him know the truth, sir."

"Good gracious, Smith, he is not going to handcuff me. You did quite right. What did he say?"

"Nothing, sir; except that he would call again. He wouldn't leave his name, but I know'd him all right."

"Thank you. Good-night. It was unnecessary that you should have remained up. But I am obliged to you all the same."

The barrister laughed as he went to his room. "Really," he said to himself, still highly amused, "White will cap all his previous feats by trying to arrest me. I suspect he has thought of it for a long time."

And Mr. White _had_ thought of it.

CHAPTER XII

WHO CORBETT WAS

"Inexorable Fate!" is a favorite phrase with the makers of books; but Fate, being feminine according to the best authorities, is also somewhat fickle in disposition. Not only is she not invariably inexorable, but at times she delights to play with her poor subjects, to dazzle them with surprise, as it were, to stupefy them with the sense of their sheer inability to foresee or understand her vagaries.

It was Bruce's turn to receive the sharpest lesson in this respect that he ever remembered.

At breakfast the next morning he selected from a packet of unimportant letters one which required immediate attention. The financiers to whom he had written in conformity with his implied promise to Mr. Dodge had replied favorably with reference to the reconstruction of the Springbok Mine.

They informed Bruce confidentially that a thoroughly reliable man in Johannesburg, to whom they had cabled, reported very strongly in favor of the property. They would await his written statement before finally committing themselves. Meanwhile, if Messrs. Dodge, Son & Co. (Limited) were anxious to get the business advanced a stage, there was no reason why he (Bruce) should not a.s.sure them that, subject to the first satisfactory report being confirmed, his clients would underwrite the shares. The whole thing would thus go through in about three weeks. As for Bruce himself, they proposed to give him a commission of five per cent in fully paid shares for the introduction.

"Well, I never!" he laughed. "Now who would have thought such a thing possible? Why, if that rascal Dodge is right and this company is really a sound undertaking, my share of the deal will be 10,000. It seems wildly incredible, yet my friends know what they are writing about as a rule."

An hour later he was in the city.

A smart brougham stood in front of the now thoroughly renovated offices of Dodge, Son & Co. (Limited), and out of it, at the moment the barrister detached himself from the chaos of Leadenhall Street, stepped the head of the firm.

He was making up the steps when Claude cried:

"h.e.l.lo, Mr. Dodge, how is the junior partner?"

Dodge stopped, focussed Bruce with his sharp eyes, and smiled:

"Oh, it is you, is it? The young 'un is all right, thanks. Are you coming in?"

"That was my intention."

"Come along then. I was hoping I would see you one of these days."

"Has business improved recently?" inquired Bruce, as they entered the inner office.

"Yes, somewhat; but money is very tight still. However, we generally look for a spurt early in the New Year. Why do you ask?"

"No valid reason. A mere hazard."

"Was it because you saw me drive up in a carriage?"

"Mr. Dodge, I never dreamt that self-consciousness was a failing of the members of the Stock Exchange."

"Then that _was_ the cause. I guessed it. I have been making inquiries about you, Mr. Bruce, and there is no use in trying to fool you, not a bit."

"Have you another Springbok proposition on hand?"

"No; bar chaffing. You were the man who ferreted out the truth about that West Australian combination when everybody else had failed. And, now I think of it, you made me talk a lot the last time you were here.

However, I am ready. Fire away! I will tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me--"

"Sh-s-s.h.!.+ Do not perjure yourself for the sake of alliteration. Besides, it is I who have come to talk this time."

"About Springboks?"

"Yes. The people I mentioned to you at my previous visit are prepared to underwrite the shares, provided that their agent's report is as favorable in its entirety as a telegraphic summary leads them to believe."

"Eh? That's good news! When will they be in a position to complete?"

"As soon as they hear from South Africa by post. Say three weeks."

"So long! But suppose I get an offer from some other quarter in the meantime? I cannot keep the proposal open indefinitely."

"I have not asked you to do so, Mr. Dodge. Let me see--three s.h.i.+llings per share on, say, two hundred thousand shares is 30,000. It is a good deal of money. If any one likes to hand you a cheque for that amount without preliminary investigation, take it by all means."

The notion tickled Dodge immensely.

"All right, Mr. Bruce. When people of that sort turn up we don't sell 'em Springboks in the City. But there is no harm in you telling me your clients' names."

"Not in the least. They are the Anglo-African Finance Corporation."

Mr. Dodge whistled. "By Jove, they're the best backing I could have.

This is a good turn, Mr. Bruce, and I shan't forget it. You see, we're a young firm, and a.s.sociation with well-known houses is good for us in every sense. I'm jolly glad now that Springboks are all right. It would never have done for me to introduce them to a risky piece of business. I am really much obliged to you. And now, how do we stand?"

"Kindly explain."

"How much 'com' do you want?"

"Nothing."

Mr. Dodge moved his chair backward several feet in sheer amazement.

"Nothing, my dear sir! Nonsense! It is a big affair. Shall we say one per cent in cash, or two in shares. I am not very well off just now, or--"