Page:Barr--Stranleighs millions.djvu/81

Rh "And is this contraption practicable?"

"It works splendidly as a model, but has never yet been tried on a real locomotive."

"Why not?"

"Because Mr. Mitcham hasn't the money."

"There should be no difficulty about that. Hang it all, I'll give you a cheque at this moment which will enable him to test the matter with real engines on a real railway line."

"The situation is not quite so easy as you think, Stranleigh. In fact, we now come to one of the most ingenious bits of manipulation that I ever heard of, so simple and so apparently straightforward that Miss Mitcham herself is sometimes in doubt regarding the justice of her suspicions. But if she waits until all her doubts are removed or verified, it will then be too late for action, should the result be what she fears. They appear to be giving the old man all the rope he asks for, and Sarsfield-Mitcham is quite unconsciously constructing a noose, fastening it round his neck, attaching it to the beam overhead, and making every preparation to hang himself—speaking figuratively, of course. P. G. Flannigan has not only advanced the necessary money to make a complete test of this invention, but has given him twice as much as he asked for; in fact, everything that Sarsfield-Mitcham required he has obtained. A little company has been formed under the laws of the State of New Jersey, and P. G. Flannigan has paid into the treasury of that