BOOTH. No heart, y'know! Great brain! If it hadn't been for that distressing quarrel he might have saved our poor father. Don't you think so, Edward? EDWARD. Perhaps. HUGH. [_giving vent to his thoughts at last with something of a relish._] The more I think this out, the more devilishly humorous it gets. Old Booth breaking down by the grave . . Colpus reading the service . . EDWARD. Yes, the Vicar's badly hit. HUGH. Oh, the Pater had managed his business for years. BOOTH. Good God . . how shall we ever look old Booth in the face again? EDWARD. I don't worry about him; he can die quite comfortably enough on six shillings in the pound. It's one or two of the smaller fry who will suffer. BOOTH. Now, just explain to me . . I didn't interrupt while Trenchard was talking . . of what exactly did this defrauding consist? EDWARD. Speculating with a client's capital . . pocketing the gains, cutting the losses; meanwhile paying the client his ordinary income. BOOTH. So that he didn't find it out? EDWARD. Quite so. BOOTH. In point of fact, he doesn't suffer? EDWARD. He doesn't suffer till he finds it out. BOOTH. And all that's wrong now is that some of their capital is missing. EDWARD. [_half amused, half amazed at this process of reasoning._] Yes, that's all that's wrong. BOOTH. What is the ah--deficit? [_the word rolls from his tongue._] EDWARD. Anything between two and three hundred thousand pounds. BOOTH. [_very impressed and not unfavourably._] Dear me . . this is a big affair! HUGH. [_following his own line of thought._] Quite apart from the rights and wrongs of this, only a very able man could have kept a straight face to the world all these years, as the Pater did. BOOTH. I suppose he sometimes made money by these speculations. EDWARD. Very often. His own expenditure was heavy, as you know. BOOTH. [_with gratitude for favours received._] He was a very generous man. HUGH. Did nobody ever suspect him? EDWARD. You see, Hugh, when there was any danger . . when a trust had to be wound up . . he'd make a great effort and put the accounts straight. BOOTH. Then he did put some accounts straight? EDWARD. Yes, when he couldn't help himself. BOOTH _looks very enquiring and then squares himself up to the subject_. BOOTH. Now look here, Edward. You told us that he told you that it was the object of his life to put these accounts straight. Then you laughed at that. Now you tell me that he did put some accounts straight. EDWARD. [_wearily._] My dear Booth, you don't understand. BOOTH. Well, let me understand . . I am anxious to understand. EDWARD. We can't pay ten shillings in the pound. BOOTH. That's very dreadful. But do you know that there wasn't a time when we couldn't have paid five? EDWARD. [_acquiescent._] I don't know.