When Schwartzbrod arrived, he was shown this time into Lord Stranleigh’s scantily furnished business office on the ground floor. He had been so anxious to know what the cause of the summons was that he found himself ten minutes before the half hour, and that ten minutes he spent alone in the little room. As the clock in the hall chimed the half hour, the door opened, and Lord Stranleigh entered. “Good morning, Mr. Schwartzbrod. There are several little business matters which I wish to discuss with you and, as I expect to leave London shortly, I thought we might as well get it over.” Stranleigh sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the table from the keen-eyed city man, who watched him with furtive sharpness. “As I was telling you, my lord, there is nothing in the papers you signed saying that any payment was to be made in advance on account of the _Rajah_.” “You object, then, to paying in advance?” “I don’t object, my lord, if it’s any accommodation to you. The first payment, you see, was made to Messrs. Sparling & Bilge.” “Of course, I’ve nothing to do with that.” “Well, the second amount I did not expect to be called on to pay until the steamer had earned some money.” “Ah, yes, I see. That seems quite just. The steamer, then, hasn’t been earning money, I take it.” “It is too soon yet to say, my lord, whether she is earning money or not.” “Is she still at South America?” “Yes, my lord.” “Has she not returned since I saw you last?” “No, my lord.” “That’s very strange,” murmured Stranleigh, more to himself than to the other. “Shows how blooming inaccurate those newspapers are.” He took out from his inside pocket a thin memorandum book, searched slowly among some slips of loose paper, and at last took out a cutting from some daily journal. “The paper from which I clipped this was issued a day or two after we last met. My attention was called to the item by the fact that so shortly before we had been in negotiation regarding the _Rajah_; successful and pleasant negotiation, if I remember rightly, and I signed the papers you presented to me without consulting a solicitor, and the impression left on my mind is that you went away satisfied.” “Oh, I was perfectly satisfied, my lord, perfectly satisfied. Yes, you very kindly signed the renewal of the charter.” “You said, if I remember rightly, that the trip of the _Rajah_ was merely an experiment. It had something to do with the cattle business; a ranch, or several ranches, in the Argentine Republic.” “Quite right, my lord. I regret to say the business has not been as prosperous as I had hoped.” “I am sorry to hear that. I have always looked on ranching as a sure way to wealth, but it seems there are exceptions. Now, you said to me that if the experiment did not prove successful, which, regrettably, seems to be the case, you would turn the _Rajah_ over to me when she returned.” “But she has not returned, my lord.”