“Oh, dear no,” replied Mr. Boltover in alarm, as though the very thought that anybody should be discouraged from an interest in his affairs, caused him acute mental unhappiness; “oh, dear no. Certainly not. Not at all.” “Of course,” smiled Michael, “she could not very well understand all the complexities of your business, Mr. Boltover--it is such an enormous one.” “Well,” hesitated the other, “I don’t know. I am not so sure. She is a very intelligent young lady. I was talking to her about my business when this dreadful affair happened and she was so calm that she just went on talking about it, don’t you know. My business, I mean. I thought it was a most remarkable instance of coolness. I was telling one of our directors to-day about it, and he thought it was a remarkable instance of coolness. Yes, even when I was taking her home she told me a lot about herself and--things. Her grandfather is a very wealthy man, a financier. I didn’t know that.” Michael might have said that he too was unaware of the fact, but he knew just the moment when a tactless interpolation might dry up the fount of Mr. Boltover’s eloquence. “Very intelligent lady indeed,” wandered Mr. Boltover, “oh, yes, I was talking about her grandfather--he is a very rich man. She thought that he might be able to take one of our properties off our hands. I was awfully surprised. Naturally, I did not think she had any money being in the chorus and all that--I hope I haven’t been indiscreet?” he asked anxiously. “You possibly did not know that she was on the stage.” “Oh, yes, I did,” said Michael with a smile; “you have betrayed nothing, Mr. Boltover.” “I am awfully glad,” replied the other, relieved; “what was I saying, about her grandfather, yes. I think I might sell him that property. I hate parting with properties--we have refused quite a number of good offers--sheer sentiment, don’t you know?” “But perhaps this is not a paying property.” “Oh, no, not at all,” said Mr. Boltover; “by no manner of means whatever. Still we don’t like parting with them. Of course, I talk a lot of rot about people wanting to buy the works and I always tell that great joke about a lunatic--ha, ha--but really it isn’t true. No, not really true, oh, no.” Michael had never heard the great joke about the lunatic. What he was anxious to hear were details of Kate’s projected purchase but in this he was foiled. There was precious little of the business man about Mr. Reggie Boltover but one lesson he had learnt, and learnt thoroughly, and that was the art of silence. His revered father was wont to say, “If you never open your mouth, Reggie, nobody will know what an ass you are,” and in business, at any rate, Reggie most religiously lived up to this injunction. What was the girl’s object?