"But suppose the directors are not unanimous."
"They should be unanimous. They should make themselves unanimous. God bless my soul! You don't want to see the thing fall to pieces!"
"Not if it can be carried on honestly."
"Honestly! Who says that anything is dishonest?" Again the brow became very heavy. "Look here, Mr. Montague. If you and I quarrel in that Board-room, there is no knowing the amount of evil we may do to every individual shareholder in the Company. I find the responsibility on my own shoulders so great that I say the thing must be stopped. Damme, Mr. Montague, it must be stopped. We mustn't ruin widows and children, Mr. Montague. We mustn't let those shares run down 20 below par for a mere chimera. I've known a fine property blasted, Mr. Montague, sent straight to the dogs,—annihilated, sir;—so that it all vanished into thin air, and widows and children past counting were sent out to starve about the streets,—just because one director sat in another director's chair. I did, by G——! What do you think of that, Mr. Montague? Gentlemen who don't know the nature of credit, how strong it is,—as the air,—to buoy you up; how slight it is,—as a mere vapour,—when roughly touched, can do an amount of mischief of which they themselves don't in the least understand the extent! What is it you want, Mr. Montague?"
"What do I want?" Melmotte's description of the peculiar susceptibility of great mercantile speculations had not been given without some effect on Montague, but this direct appeal to himself almost drove that effect out of his mind. "I only want justice."
"But you should know what justice is before you demand it at the expense of other people. Look here, Mr. Montague. I suppose you are like the rest of us, in this matter. You want to make money out of it."
"For myself, I want interest for my capital; that is all. But I am not thinking of myself."
"You are getting very good interest. If I understand the matter,"—and here Melmotte pulled out a little book, showing thereby how careful he was in mastering details,—"you had about £6,000 embarked in the business when Fisker joined your firm. You imagine yourself to have that still."
"I don't know what I've got."
"I can tell you then. You have that, and you've drawn nearly a thousand pounds since Fisker came over, in one shape or another. That's not bad interest on your money."