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296 "I need more than cash, Lord Stranleigh. I need an adviser with a head on his shoulders, and that's what brought me to you to-night."

Stranleigh smiled, as he answered:

"You flattered me once before, Peter, by making a similar remark."

"Yes, and you justified it."

"Oh, well, that was a fluke, united with the possession of a little ready money, the lack of which you say is the cause of this panic. I'm sure, if my advice is any use to you, Peter, you are welcome to it, also the cash, as I stated before."

"Thank you. It's rather a long story, and not a very creditable one, so far as my brains are concerned. Have you time to listen?"

"All the time there is, Peter, till daylight to-morrow, and next day, if you choose. Here, pick up a sandwich, and find whether you're hungry or not. I'll pour out the bibulous fluids."

Mackeller took a sandwich, and, with his usual directness, plunged into his narrative.

"When I married," he said, "I bought Gorham Manor, on the south coast, with about two hundred acres of land attached. Our next neighbour to the west is Sir Phillip Sanderson—Squire Sanderson, as they call him locally, who is the largest property owner in our district. Sir Phillip, in his time, was an eminent engineer, who built many railways in South America and elsewhere, accumulating a large fortune, a great part of which he in-