Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/229

 this ancient ditty from the lips of an up-to-date young man?"

"I've forgotten some words of the elegy, but the main theme applies to yours truly. I've done a great stroke of business. Pulled it off with eclat; with these claws, in fact"—he spread out his fingers all a-crook—"and I approach you with hands full of boodle, metaphorically speaking."

"Had a stroke of luck, eh?"

"Luck? Not on your life. Does a man equipped with my brain power require the blind assistance of luck? Not so; my fortune has come to me through deep calculation; through my accurate and extensive knowledge of human nature. It was a coup, carefully planned, and the proceeds are now in my bank, subject to my order. I address Lord Stranleigh on terms of equality, as rich man talking to rich man."

"Great heavens! This is astonishing. Elucidate!"

"Do you remember telling me that the then foreshadowed oil boom would speedily collapse?"

"Yes; that was six weeks ago."

"Precisely. The moment I realised that was your deliberate opinion, I gathered together everything I possessed, and plunged it into oil. If Lord