Edward Henry asked coldly:
"Have you bought it?"
"No," Mr. Bryany seemed to apologize. "I haven't exactly bought it. But I've got an option on it."
The magic word "option" wakened the drowsy speculator in Edward Henry. And the mere act of looking at the plan endowed the plot of land with reality! There it was! It existed!
"An option to buy it?"
"You can't buy land in the West End of London," said Mr. Bryany, sagely. "You can only lease it."
"Well, of course!" Edward Henry concurred.
"The freehold belongs to Lord Woldo, now aged six months."
"Really!" murmured Edward Henry.
"I've got an option to take up the remainder of the lease, with sixty-four years to run, on the condition I put up a theatre. And the option expires in exactly a fortnight's time."