“Yes, and there might not!”

“If the gold was absolutely sure, Phil, you know nobody would sell. Would they? A man has got to take a chawnce.

115

“What do you want for the bally thing, Mr. Dalton?”

“One thousand plunks,” remarked Dalton without a tremor.

“Plunks?”

“Yes, plunks,––bucks!”

“Bucks?”

“Yes,––plunks, bucks, greenbacks, In-God-We-Trusts, D-O-double L-A-R-S.”

“Two hundred quid!” figured Hannington roughly, who, for the proper realisation of actual values still had the habit of converting his dollars into English coinage.