"I beg you to understand, Mr. Courtney, that I am inspired by a
purely friendly interest," insisted Gresham with very stiff dignity.
"I thought it might be of value for you to know--if you were not
already informed--that an attachment for fifty thousand dollars upon
Mr. Gamble was laid against your Terminal Hotel property this
afternoon."

Mr. Courtney paused to consider.

"At what time was this attachment issued?"

"At three-thirty, I was informed."

Mr. Courtney's reception of that important bit of news was rather
unusual, in consideration of its gravity. He threw back his head and
laughed; he turned to the colonel and, putting his hand upon his old
friend's shoulder, laughed again; he put his other hand upon
Gresham's shoulder and laughed more. The colonel was a slower
thinker. He looked painfully puzzled for a moment--then suddenly it
dawned upon him, and he laughed uproariously; he punched his old
friend Courtney in the ribs and laughed more uproariously; he
punched Gresham in the ribs and laughed most uproariously.

"Why, bless my heart, boy!" he explained for Courtney. "At two-
thirty, neither Courtney nor Johnny Gamble owned a penny's worth of
interest in the Terminal Hotel site, if that's the property you
mean--and of course you do."

"No," laughed Courtney. "At that hour we sold it outright to Morton
Washer for a cool half-million profit, which my friend Johnny and I