“I suppose Mr. Greatorex isn’t still here by any chance, Parkinson?” he asked, referring to his secretary.

“I think not, sir, but I will ascertain,” replied the man.

“Never mind.  Go to his room and bring me the last two files of The Times.  Now”—­when he returned—­“turn to the earliest you have there.  The date?”

“November the second.”

“That will do.  Find the Money Market; it will be in the Supplement.  Now look down the columns until you come to British Railways.”

“I have it, sir.”

“Central and Suburban.  Read the closing price and the change.”

“Central and Suburban Ordinary, 66-1/2-67-1/2, fall 1/8.  Preferred Ordinary, 81-81-1/2, no change.  Deferred Ordinary, 27-1/2-27-3/4, fall 1/4.  That is all, sir.”

“Now take a paper about a week on.  Read the Deferred only.”

“27-27-1/4, no change.”

“Another week.”

“29-1/2-30, rise 5/8.”

“Another.”

“31-1/2-32-1/2, rise 1.”

“Very good.  Now on Tuesday the twenty-seventh November.”

“31-7/8-32-3/4, rise 1/2.”

“Yes.  The next day.”

“24-1/2-23-1/2, fall 9.”

“Quite so, Parkinson.  There had been an accident, you see.”

“Yes, sir.  Very unpleasant accident.  Jane knows a person whose sister’s young man has a cousin who had his arm torn off in it—­torn off at the socket, she says, sir.  It seems to bring it home to one, sir.”

“That is all.  Stay—­in the paper you have, look down the first money column and see if there is any reference to the Central and Suburban.”

“Yes, sir.  ’City and Suburbans, which after their late depression on the projected extension of the motor bus service, had been steadily creeping up on the abandonment of the scheme, and as a result of their own excellent traffic returns, suffered a heavy slump through the lamentable accident of Thursday night.  The Deferred in particular at one time fell eleven points as it was felt that the possible dividend, with which rumour has of late been busy, was now out of the question.’”

“Yes; that is all.  Now you can take the papers back.  And let it be a warning to you, Parkinson, not to invest your savings in speculative railway deferreds.”

“Yes, sir.  Thank you, sir, I will endeavour to remember.”  He lingered for a moment as he shook the file of papers level.  “I may say, sir, that I have my eye on a small block of cottage property at Acton.  But even cottage property scarcely seems safe from legislative depredation now, sir.”

The next day Mr. Carrados called on his brokers in the city.  It is to be presumed that he got through his private business quicker than he expected, for after leaving Austin Friars he continued his journey to Holloway, where he found Hutchins at home and sitting morosely before his kitchen fire.  Rightly assuming that his luxuriant car would involve him in a certain amount of public attention in Klondyke Street, the blind man dismissed it some distance from the house, and walked the rest of the way, guided by the almost imperceptible touch of Parkinson’s arm.