But when the time came for Philip to unfold the project which he had been quietly maturing, the sanguine and volatile Wrentham was for an instant dumb with amazement, then peered inquiringly into the face of the young capitalist, as if seeking some symptoms of insanity, and next laughed outright.
‘That’s the best joke I have heard for a long time,’ he exclaimed.
‘Where is the joke?’ asked Philip, a little surprised.
‘You don’t mean to say that you are serious in thinking of investing your capital in this way?’ Wrentham’s hilarity disappeared as he spoke.
‘Perfectly serious; and Mr Shield approves of the idea.’
‘But you will never make money out of it.’
‘I do not know what you may mean by making money; but unless the calculations which have been supplied to me by practical men are utterly wrong, I shall obtain a fair percentage on the capital invested. I do not mean to do anything foolish, for I consider the money as held in trust, and will do what is in my power to make a good use of it.’
‘You want to drive Philanthropy and Business in one team; but I never heard of them going well in harness together.’
‘I think they have done so, and may do so again,’ said Philip cheerfully.
‘You will be an exception to all the rules I know anything about, if you manage to make them go together. If you had five times the capital you are starting with, you could make nothing out of it.’