M. Auguste smiled pleasantly.
“I congratulate you,” he said. “From what I have heard the repairs will take at least that time.”
“But that is not all. This bet of mine is continuous. I win a similar stake for every month which passes without the fleet having left harbor.”
M. Auguste gazed at me steadily before speaking.
“If your bet were renewable weekly instead of monthly, you might become quite a rich man.”
I saw that I was dealing with a cormorant. I made a hasty mental calculation. Half of one thousand rubles was about $375 a week, and the information I had led me to believe that Port Arthur was capable of holding out for another six months at least. To delay the sailing of the Baltic Fleet till then would cost roughly $10,000—say 15,000 rubles.
I decided that neither England nor Japan would grudge the price.
“I think your suggestion is a good one,” I answered M. Auguste. “In that case, should you be willing to share the bet?”
“I should be willing to undertake it entirely,” was the response.