How heartily Lord Ballyshannon, the
worthy chairman of the company, laughed
when the secretary described the applicant
and his inquiry. It was a great joke. They
buy their own shares.

With great ceremony the Board proceeded
to allot. It was really heart-breaking to see
the excellent men whose applications they
were compelled to refuse. Yet it could not be
helped—the applications were so very
numerous. They could afford Captain Bluebill, of
Tanglebury Hall, only one hundred and fifty
of the three hundred applied for; the great
silk merchant, Benjamin Button, of Clapham,
who was eager for two hundred, could not
possibly have more than one hundred and
twenty-five. The public had apparently
conspired to heap riches upon this most fortunate,
this most promising, company. But
then everybody said the thing would be
a great success from the first. It was to
supply a want, long felt throughout the
country.

Four days were given to the happy applicants
who had shares allotted to them to pay
up their deposits — four days only, and then
would arrive the golden day when the directors
would be able to draw a cheque for the
purchase-money of the invention.

Two days after the clerks had poured three
bagfuls of allotment letters into Her Majesty's
Post Office, the seedy gentleman once more
made his appearance at the office of the
prosperous company. On this occasion he had
business of some importance to transact; and
must see the secretary. The secretary
condescended to give the applicant an audience—
just to humour the fellow.

"Now, sir, do you wish to buy any
letters?"

"My good man, I don't understand you,"
replied the secretary.

"Any letters of allotment?"

"Letters of allotment! I am still more
perplexed!"

"Well, then, let me tell you, sir, there
are plenty to be had — and at sixpence per
share." The seedy gentleman smiled with
great condescension upon the secretary. The
secretary looked very foolish. The applicant
drew a dirty bundle from his pocket, and
continued:

"Look here, sir; here are four hundred
and thirty shares I have bought at fourpence
per share."

"Dear me, let me look at them!"

" O dear no: buy them, and you may do
what you please with them. There are plenty
of them in the market; and if you want any
paid upon, I should advise you to buy them
up as fast as possible."

"I can't understand this: we allotted only
to persons of the first respectability."

"You allotted to a great many stags, sir,
I can tell you," replied the seedy individual.
"Now, I venture to assert, sir, that unless
you buy up these letters upon the market,
you will not have a five-pound note paid into
your bankers. Everybody who intends to
pay, goes to see how the shares are upon
the market first ; and if they see letters of
allotment being hawked about for a few
shillings, they'll not pay up. Why, it was
only the other day that the Great Timbuctoo
Mining Company got up thirty thousand
pounds in two days. And how did they do it ?
Sir, they bought up any letter of allotment at
any price that was offered in the market ; they
gave commissions to brokers to buy shares
even at a premium ; and so they were quoted
at two premium in the list, and everybody
rushed to the bank to pay in. Why, to-day
I was offered a letter for a hundred of your
shares for half-a-crown !"

"You surprise me," the bewildered secretary
exclaimed. " But how do these letters
get into the hands of men who hawk them
about?"

"They write for them. Didn't you have
any stag-books when you allotted?"

"Stag-books! No. What are stag-books?"

"I see, sir, you have much to learn in these
matters."

This observation roused the secretary's
indignation, and he began to entertain an
idea that he was being duped by his
informant.

"Sir," said the secretary, with a grand
air, " we do not wish to have the
knowledge you seem to possess. The Patent
Corkscrew Company is not the Great Timbuctoo
Mining Company. I wish you good morning.
We do not wish to purchase letters of allotment."

"Very well, sir," replied the seedy gentleman,
with a jaunty air, " you will have a
different story this day next week. I shall
sell these at any price, and then you'll see
how many you'll have taken up." With this
threat the seedy individual left the astonished
secretary.

When the Board met that afternoon, the
directors did not look quite so gay as on
former occasions. The secretary's account
was not a cheerful one; and, after due
deliberation, it was agreed that one of the
clerks should be sent into the market to
buy up a letter for one hundred and fifty
shares at the current price. Armed with
this power, the clerk was not long in
transacting his business. He soon returned with
one hundred and fifty shares, which he had
bought for seven shillings. The letter of
allotment was handed to the noble chairman,
who read the name, the honoured name, of
Captain Bluebill. Could the owner of
Tanglebury Hall stoop to this?

Three days after this purchase had been
made, the seedy individual made his appearance
a third time at the offices of the Patent
Corkscrew Company. He saw how matters
stood, at a glance. Everybody was dull.
Directors were whispering together in
couples; the clerks were making up their