If I could have pleased you, of course. . . . But I want to know all about it first."

The Prince looked at the letters in the Stone. "I think you will know a great deal then," he said, salaamed deeply to it, and without bowing to the men turned and left the house.

Sir Giles went after him to the front door, though they exchanged no more words, and, having watched him drive away returned to find his nephew making hasty notes.

"I don't see why we need a company," he said. "Just you and I, eh?"

"Why you?" Sir Giles asked. "What makes you think you're going to have anything to do with it?"

"Why, you told me," Montague exclaimed. "You offered me a hand in the game if I'd be about to-night when the Prince came in case he turned nasty."

"So I did," his uncle answered. "Yes-well, on conditions. If there is any money in it, I shall want some of it. Not as much as you do, but some. It's always useful, and I had to pay pretty high to get the Stone. And I don't want a fuss made about it-not yet."

"That's all right," Montague said. "I was thinking it might be just as well to have Uncle Christopher in with us."

"Whatever for?" Sir Giles asked.

"Well ... if there's any legal trouble, you know," Montague said vaguely. "I mean-if it came to the Courts we might be gladf -of course, I don't know if they could-but anyhow he'd probably notice it if I began to live on a million-and some of these swine will do anything if their pockets are touched-all sorts of tricks they have-but a Chief Justice is a Chief Justice-that is, if you didn't mind-"

"I don't mind," Sir Giles said. "Arglay's got a flat-footed kind of intellect; that's why he's Chief Justice, I expect. But for what it's worth, and if they did try any international law business. But they can't; there was nothing to prevent that fellow selling it to me if he chose, nor me buying. I'll get Palliser here as soon as I can. "

"I wonder how many we ought to make," Montague said. "Shall we say a dozen to start with? It can't cost much to make a dozen bits of gold- need it be gold? Better, better. Better keep it in the same stuff-and it looks more for the money. The money-why, we can ask a million for each-for what'll only cost a guinea or two. . . ." He stopped, appalled by the stupendous vision,

Then he went on anxiously, "The Prince did say a bit any size would do, didn't he? and that this fellow"-he pointed a finger at the Stone-" would keep the same size? It means a patent, of course; so if anybody else ever did get hold of the original they couldn't use it. Millions . .