“Well, Blum & Co. is Sir Matthew’s firm, and Mr. Blum would be an exceedingly interesting witness.”
Tarleton almost jumped out of his chair. “Good Lord!” he said excitedly, “you don’t mean—”
“I mean just exactly that,” Klein continued in his heavy way. “Moritz Blum is Bale’s partner, and he’s one of the biggest scamps in the City. Now supposing I give the tip to a member of the committee to call him.”
Tarleton could hardly believe his ears. Here was retribution for Sir Matthew with a vengeance! But he hesitated.
“Would it be square, do you think? I mean, wouldn’t it be treacherous towards the chairman?”
“That seems to depend upon which you put first—the chairman or the country. For my part, the only thing that matters is that if we are able to expose anything that helps the enemy, we should do so, and here’s our chance.”
“D’you really mean that, Klein?”
“Mean it? Of course I mean it. Blum & Co. are amongst the largest shareholders in the Swedenborg Coal and Iron Smelting Company, in Stockholm; they have sold and are selling thousands of tons of pig-iron to the German Government. What do you say to that?”
“How on earth do you know?” ejaculated Tarleton almost breathlessly.
Klein fixed his eyes on the other significantly.