"I have got seventy or eighty pounds of my own," I said "It's not exactly a fortune, but it ought to be enough to carry on with for the present." He relinquished his place on the edge of the table and sat down again in the chair which he had been occupying when I first entered the room. "Well, it's just as you like," he remarked, "but if you are really serious about this idea of yours, I think you had better let me make you a small advance. You needn't have any scruples, you know, because I shall charge you interest on it. There are bound to be a certain number of things you will want to buy, and there's no particular point in running yourself short of cash." He looked round at me enquiringly. "What would you say to a couple of hundred pounds at six per cent.?" "I should say thank you," I replied promptly. "It's rather a lukewarm sort of a phrase, but I can't think of anything better for the moment." He pressed a small electric bell in the wall beside him. "No need for thanks," he repeated. "I shouldn't suggest it if it wasn't a perfectly sound investment from my point of view. I hope to make a lot of money out of you before we've finished." The door opened, and a solemn-faced young man with a large pair of spectacles on his nose insinuated himself into the room. "Are you busy, Sandford?" enquired Mr. Drayton, looking up from the cheque that he was writing. "Not particularly, sir," replied the solemn-faced young man. "Well, this is Mr. John Dryden, whom I was speaking to you about. We are advancing him the sum of two hundred pounds at six per cent. interest on the Jannaway estate. You might make out a receipt for him to sign and bring it in here as soon as it's done." "Very good, sir," responded Mr. Sandford meekly; then he paused. "Inspector Campbell is downstairs, sir," he added. "He says he will wait until you are disengaged." The lawyer nodded. "I shan't be very long," he replied. Mr. Sandford withdrew as noiselessly as he had entered, and, tearing off the cheque that he had written, my companion turned back to me. "Now let me see," he observed thoughtfully; "what's the next thing we've got to do?" "The next thing," I said firmly, "is to go out together and have some lunch. I always make a point of giving a lunch party when I come into a fortune." "It's not a bad habit," he admitted, smiling. "Unfortunately, I have got this man Campbell waiting to see me." "Bring him along too," I suggested. "You can talk to him while we're eating." Mr. Drayton got up from his chair. "We'll put it to him anyway," he said. "I don't suppose he'll say no. One can generally trust a Scotchman not to miss anything that's worth having." He folded the cheque across in the middle and handed it to me. "How about the receipt?" I asked. "You can come back this afternoon and sign that. There are one or two other papers I shall have ready for you by then."