“An affair of the greatest importance, that demands my immediate presence in Paris. Now, excuse the indiscretion, marquis, but have you any landed property?”
“All my fortune is in the funds; seven or eight hundred thousand francs.”
“Then sell out—sell out, marquis, or you will lose it all.”
“But how can I sell out here?”
“You have a broker, have you not?”
“Yes.”
“Then give me a letter to him, and tell him to sell out without an instant’s delay, perhaps even now I shall arrive too late.”
“The deuce you say!” replied the marquis, “let us lose no time, then!”
And, sitting down, he wrote a letter to his broker, ordering him to sell out at the market price.