There must surely, he thought, be some way round the difficulty. Walter Brooklyn was no fool; and he set himself deliberately to devise some method of raising the wind with Woodman’s aid. He came speedily to the conclusion that there was only one way in which it could be done. He must somehow get Woodman on to his side. That was not altogether impossible, much as the two men disliked each other. It was, Walter told himself, merely a matter of money.
Woodman, he considered, would certainly receive a legacy under any will Sir Vernon might make. Probably a few thousands, in return for his services. But he supposed that Woodman could entertain no hope of being one of the principal beneficiaries.
Woodman’s expectations were probably small. But Walter Brooklyn had good reason to believe that, despite his apparent prosperity, Woodman was hard pressed for money. Left alone in Woodman’s office for a few minutes the week before, he had hurriedly turned over certain private papers on the desk, and had gathered enough information to be sure that Woodman, like himself, would do a good deal for a supply of ready money. Might not this fact, he wondered, open up the possibility of a bargain? If, as he believed, the will was now in his favour, he could offer Woodman very favourable terms for negotiating an advance on his behalf. He would offer Woodman a share—a substantial share—as a loan—of whatever he could raise on the strength of Walter’s expectations.
Why waste time? He would at least see at once whether Woodman was at his office, and try to arrange an appointment. The telephone was at his elbow, and he rang up. Woodman was there, and Walter got straight through to him. His clerks had already gone home for the night.
“Who is speaking?” came the voice from the other end.
“Walter Brooklyn this end. I want to see you as soon as possible.”
As he gave his name, Walter heard a gasp from the man at the other end of the wire. Then, “Where are you speaking from?” came the voice.
“Not from Brixton, if that is what you mean. I’m speaking from the Byron Club.”
“Good God, man! How on earth——”
“The police released me this afternoon. I am completely cleared of this charge, although I understand you were good enough to believe me guilty.”