"Good Lord in Heaven! Bank-notes? Notes are money! If you have notes, well and good; if you haven't, it comes to the same thing. Therefore, we must interest the small capitalists, who have nothing but bank-notes."
"And the big ones? How do they pay?"
"In shares, debenture guarantees, of course. But that will be a matter for later on. Get them to subscribe, and we'll see to the rest."
"And only three hundred thousand? One single great steamer costs as much. Supposing we insured a thousand steamers?"
"A thousand? Last year the 'Neptune' issued forty-eight thousand insurance policies, and did well out of it."
"All the worse, I say! But if—but if—matters should go wrong...."
"One goes into liquidation!"
"Liquidation?"
"Declares oneself insolvent! That's the proper term. And what does it matter if the society becomes insolvent? It isn't you, or I, or he! But one can also increase the number of shares, or issue debentures which the Government may buy up in hard times at a good price."
"There's no risk then?"