"You gave up then?"
"No, I tried again. I tried Clement & Co." Forbes seemed unable to conclude.
"And they?" urged Luke.
"They wouldn't consider it for a moment, Huber."
Luke did not like to look at Forbes's suffering, but he had to hear the end.
"Well?" he said.
Forbes flung out his hands.
"What more could I do?" he demanded. "If it became known that the firm was going begging—yes, begging—from bank to bank, what would happen to our credit? I didn't dare to go anywhere else. I—Huber, I went back to Osserman and asked him for time."
Luke sat down. He picked up a paper and made a transparent pretense of glancing at it.
"Did he give you time?"