“I should have left months ago,” Sutton went on; “we’ve got more diamonds in this hole than---- Curse the beastly things!” he said abruptly. He stooped down to the mouth of the cave. “Father,” he called softly, “come out--I want to introduce you to a sportsman.” Amber stood dumbfounded and silent as the other turned to him. “My father isn’t very well,” he said with a catch in his voice; “you’ll have to help me get him away.” CHAPTER XVI AMBER ON PROSPECTUSES THE RIVER OF STARS, LTD. Share Capital, £800,000. 100,000 Ordinary Shares of £5 each. 30,000 Deferred Shares of £10 each. DIRECTORS: Augustus Lambaire, Esq. (_Chairman_). Felix White, Esq. The Hon. Griffin Pullerger. Lord Corsington. Such was the heading of the prospectus which found its way into every letter-box of every house of every man who had speculated wisely, or unwisely, in stock exchange securities. Both Lambaire and Whitey shirked the direct appeal to the public which city conventions demand. I think it was that these two men, when they were confronted with a straightforward way and a crooked way of conducting business with which they might be associated, instinctively moved towards the darker method. When they had arrived in England they had decided upon the campaign; they came with greater prestige than they had ever dared to hope for--the discovery, astonishing as it had been to them at the moment, of the diamonds in Sutton’s knotted handkerchief,--gave support to their story, which was all the stronger since the proof of the mine’s existence came from the enemy. On the voyage to England they had grown weary of discussing by what mysterious process, by what uncanny freak of fortune, the stones had been so found, and they had come to a condition of mind where they accepted the fact. The preparation of the prospectus had been a labour of love; there was no difficulty in securing a name or two for the directors. They had had the inestimable advantage of a Press sensation. They might, indeed, have chosen the latter-day method of publishing in the newspapers. Their prospectus was very feasible. There were not wanting critics who were curious as to the exact location of the diamond field of fabulous wealth, but this difficulty they had got over in part by the cunning constitution of the company, which allowed of a large portion of working capital for purposes of exploration; for the further development of “Company Property,” and for the opening up of roads to the interior. The Company was registered in Jersey; the significance of that fact will be appreciated by those acquainted with Company procedure. City editors, examining the prospectus, shook their heads in bewilderment. Some damned it instanter, some saw its romantic side and wrote accordingly. Not a few passed it unnoticed, following the golden precept, “No advertisement: no puff.”