"There's Jackson, in X---- Street. Why not try him? I haven't had to
visit him myself, but I know about him, and I will go and see him with
you if you like."
"That would be awfully kind of you," I said, gratefully.
"Of course," he added, "it's of no use unless you can tell him
something definite about the property. He doesn't care about wasting
time on little bits of business, and I suppose you would like to have a
good pocketful of money."
I replied by giving him all the information I had about my
expectations. He listened attentively, asked two or three questions,
said he did not think there would be any difficulty, and made an
appointment for us to meet the following morning. This done, he called
for the waiter, paid the bill, and we spent the rest of the evening at
a music-hall. I returned to my hotel charmed with my new acquaintance,
and feeling a warm glow of satisfaction at the thought that in a few
days I should have as much as I wanted to spend instead of having to
reckon with every shilling.
Next morning, Saturday, I woke in my little sixth-floor bedroom to see
the sun shining brilliantly, and it was in excellent spirits that I
dressed and went down to breakfast. As usual in the season, the hotel
was full, and few seats were vacant in the lofty and lavishly-decorated
hall, still called, by virtue of old custom, the coffee-room. The
cheerful hum of conversation, the noiseless dexterity of the waiters
darting to and fro, the comfort and luxury of the surroundings,
increased my sense of enjoyment, and while waiting for my coffee and
kidneys I began to think what an uncommonly good time I might have in
London. What a fool I had been not to think of raising money before! It
must be simple enough, judging by what Captain Wyngate had said, and he
seemed to know pretty well what he was talking about.
I had barely finished breakfast when the captain himself came into
the coffee-room, much to my surprise. He explained that he had some
business near my hotel, and that he had dropped in on the chance of
finding me, so that we could go to X---- Street together, instead of
meeting as we had originally planned. I was afraid he had put himself
out of his way for my convenience, but this he would not admit, and I
had to put down his visit as another proof of his obliging disposition.
Off we went in a hansom to X---- Street, and were lucky enough to find
Jackson disengaged.
He was not at all the type of man I had expected to see. I had imagined
a rather grimy and snuffy-looking individual, sitting in a little,
dark room, surrounded by safes and deed-boxes. Mr. Jackson, on the
other hand, was quite a gentleman: tall, well-groomed, clean-shaven,
and wearing an immaculate frock-coat. Captain Wyngate was kind enough
to explain why I had come. After this he got up and was about to leave
the room, and I had some difficulty in getting him to stay and help me
out. This was lucky, as Jackson proved a hard nut to crack. He was very
polite, but raised so many objections that I began to despair of doing
anything with him. It was very risky, he said, to lend money to minors,
as he knew to his cost; and then, how was he to be sure I was to get
as much as thirty thousand pounds? Trusts did not always produce what
was expected of them. Finally, after asking a lot of questions about my
family and the date of the will, he promised to make inquiries and give
me an answer at three o'clock in the afternoon.
Had I known more about business it would probably have struck me as
peculiar that a few hours should be considered enough to investigate a
transaction of which the lender was supposed to know next to nothing.
In the light of subsequent knowledge I am convinced that the urbane
Mr. Jackson knew all about the matter long before he set eyes on me,
and that the postponement until the afternoon was a mere blind. In
happy unconsciousness of this I accepted an invitation to luncheon
from Captain Wyngate, who kindly expressed his intention of seeing me
through the business. And a very excellent lunch it was, too--just the
kind of thing to make a man feel at peace with himself and all the
world. Three o'clock saw us back at Jackson's office.
"Well, Mr. Addington," he said, "I have looked into the matter, and I
think I shall be able to accommodate you."
"I'm very glad to hear it," I returned, joyously.
"Of course, I need not tell anyone of your intelligence and education,"
he continued, "that this is a rather irregular sort of transaction, and
very risky for me. If you were to take advantage of being a minor and
should go back on your word, where should I be?"