"Miss Champers," he answered, "am I not always at your service?" and
all listened to hear upon what point their hostess desired to be
enlightened.

"Sir Robert," she went on calmly, "everyone here is, I believe, what
is called a financier, that is except myself and Major Vernon, who only
tries to be and will, I am sure, fail, since Nature made him something
else, a soldier and--what else did Nature make you, Alan?"

As he vouchsafed no answer to question, although Sir Robert muttered an
uncomplimentary one between his lips which Barbara heard, or read, she
continued:

"And you are all very rich and successful, are you not, and are going to
be much richer and much more successful--next week. Now what I want to
ask you is--how is it done?"

"Accepting the premises for the sake of argument, Miss Champers,"
replied Sir Robert, who felt that he could not refuse the challenge,
"the answer is that it is done by finance."

"I am still in the dark," she said. "Finance, as I have heard of it,
means floating companies, and companies are floated to earn money for
those who invest in them. Now this afternoon as I was dull, I got hold
of a book called the Directory of Directors, and looked up all your
names in it, except those of the gentlemen from Paris, and the companies
that you direct--I found out about those in another book. Well, I could
not make out that any of these companies have ever earned any money, a
dividend, don't you call it? Therefore how do you all grow so rich, and