Ezra stroked his dark moustache complacently, and took a momentary glance at his own bold handsome features in the mirror above the fire-place.  “If we are reduced to such an expedient, I think I can answer for the result,” he said.  “The girl’s not a bad-looking one.  But you said you had several plans.  Let us hear some of the other ones.  If the worst comes to the worst I might consent to that—­on condition, of course, that I should have the whole management of the money.”

“Quite so—­quite so,” his father said hurriedly.  “That’s a dear, good lad.  As you say, when all other things fail we can always fall back upon that.  At present I intend to raise as much money as I can upon our credit, and invest it in such a manner as to bring in a large and immediate profit.”

“And how do you intend to do this?” his son asked doubtfully.

“I intend,” said John Girdlestone, solemnly rising up and leaning his elbow against the mantelpiece—­“I intend to make a corner in diamonds.”

CHAPTER XII.

A CORNER IN DIAMONDS.

John Girdlestone propounded his intention with such dignity and emphasis that he evidently expected the announcement to come as a surprise upon his son.  If so, he was not disappointed, for the young man stared open-eyed.

“A corner in diamonds!” he repeated.  “How will you do that?”

“You know what a corner is,” his father explained.  “If you buy up all the cotton, say, or sugar in the market, so as to have the whole of it in your own hands, and to be able to put your own price on it in selling it again—­that is called making a corner in sugar or cotton.  I intend to make a corner in diamonds.”

“Of course, I know what a corner is,” Ezra said impatiently.  “But how on earth are you going to buy all the diamonds in?  You would want the capital of a Rothschild?”

“Not so much as you think, my boy, for there are not any great amount of diamonds in the market at any one time.  The yield of the South African fields regulates the price.  I have had this idea in my head for some time, and have studied the details.  Of course, I should not attempt to buy in all the diamonds that are in the market.  A small portion of them would yield profit enough to float the firm off again.”

“But if you have only a part of the supply in your hands, how are you to regulate the market value?  You must come down to the prices at which other holders are selling.”

“Ha!  Ha!  Very good! very good!” the old merchant said, shaking his head good-humouredly.  “But you don’t quite see my plan yet.  You have not altogether grasped it.  Allow me to explain it to you.”

His son lay back upon the sofa with a look of resignation upon his face.  Girdlestone continued to stand upon the hearth-rug and spoke very slowly and deliberately, as though giving vent to thoughts which had been long and carefully considered.