The manager reflected a moment. "Barring accidents, ten months," he answered. "Second," continued Jeckie, "how much money shall we want to see us through? Take your time; reckon it out. Carefully, now; leave a good margin." The manager nodded, took paper and pencil, and began to figure; Jeckie stood statue-like at his side, watching in silence as he worked. Ten minutes passed, then he drew a thick line beneath his last sum total of figures, and pointed to it. "That," he said. "Ample!" Jeckie picked up the sheet of paper, folded it, slipped it under her shawl, and turned to the door. "That's all right," she said. "I only wanted to know. Get on!" This it was that sent her, dressed in her best, a fine figure of a woman, just on the right side of middle age, into Sicaster that morning. But before she reached the town she called in at Albert Grice's villa. It was still early, and Albert and Lucilla were seated at their breakfast table. Jeckie walked in on them, closed the door, after making certain that the parlour-maid was not lingering on the mat outside, declined to eat or drink, pulled a chair up to the table, and produced the sheet of paper on which the manager had made his reckoning. "Look here!" she said. "You know that this--what with that building scheme and one thing and another--is costing us a lot more nor ever we'd reckoned on; things always does. Now then, I've made Robinson work out--carefully--exactly how much more we shall have to lay out yet before that pit's in full working order. Here's the amount. Look at it!" Albert and Lucilla bent their heads over the sheet of paper. Albert made a sound which expressed nothing; Lucilla screamed. "Mercy on us!" she exclaimed. "I can't find any more money; it's impossible! Why----" "Never said you could," interrupted Jeckie. "I'll find it; all t'lot. But ... bear in mind, when I've found that, as I will, at once, my share in our united capital'll be just eight times as much as yours. So, of course, your share in the profits'll be according. D'you see!" Lucilla made no answer, but Albert immediately assumed the air of a wise and knowing business man. "Oh, of course, that's right enough, Lucilla!" he said. "That's according to strict principles. Share in profits in relation to amount of capital held by each partner. You'll be able to find this capital?" he continued, turning to Jeckie. "It 'ud never do for things to stop--now!"