“Any debts?”
“Not many; but quite enough to make me meditate a temporary retirement to Boulogne!”
“I believe you are better off than I am. I not only owe money, but am terribly bothered about some bills.”
“That’s awkward. Would it not be advisable to bolt?”
“I don’t think so. You used to tell me, Bob, that credit was the next best thing to capital. Now, I don’t despair of redeeming my capital yet, if I can only keep up my credit.”
“Right, undoubtedly, as you generally are. Do you know, Dunshunner, you deserve credit for your notions on political economy. But how is that to be done? Everybody is realising; the banks won’t discount; and when your bills become due, they will be, to a dead certainty, protested.”
“Well—and what then?”
“Squalor carceris, et cetera.”
“Hum—an unpleasant alternative, certainly. Come, Bob! put your wits to work. You used to be a capital hand for devices, and there must be some way or other of steering clear. Time is all we want.”
“Ay, to be sure—time is the great thing. It would be very unpleasant to look out on the world through a grating during the summer months!”