The old man turned his chair round and pulled out his cheque-book.
'I want thirty thousand pounds,' she answered.
Mr. Longworth wheeled quickly round in his chair and looked at her in astonishment.
'Thirty thousand what?'
'Thirty thousand pounds, father; and I want it now.'
'My dear girl,' he expostulated, 'have you any idea how much thirty thousand pounds is? Do you know that thirty thousand pounds is a fortune?'
'Yes, I know that.'
'Do you know that there is not one in twenty of the richest merchants in London who could at a moment's notice produce thirty thousand pounds in ready money?'
'Yes, I suppose that is true. Have you not the ready money?'
'Yes, I have the money. I can draw a cheque for that amount, and it will be honoured at once; but I cannot give you so much money without knowing what you are going to do with it.'