“Got it out of a shark.”

“Oh, oh, oh, this is too much!  Front! call the police bring the gun —­raise the town!  All the asylums in Christendom have broken loose in the single person of——­”

“Sit down!  And collect yourself.  Where is the use in getting excited?  Am I excited?  There is nothing to get excited about.  When I make a statement which I cannot prove, it will be time enough for you to begin to offer hospitality to damaging fancies about me and my sanity.”

“Oh, a thousand, thousand pardons!  I ought to be ashamed of myself, and I am ashamed of myself for thinking that a little bit of a circumstance like sending a shark to England to fetch back a market report——­”

“What does your middle initial stand for, sir?”

“Andrew.  What are you writing?”

“Wait a moment.  Proof about the shark—­and another matter.  Only ten lines.  There—­now it is done.  Sign it.”

“Many thanks—­many.  Let me see; it says—­it says oh, come, this is interesting!  Why—­why—­look here! prove what you say here, and I’ll put up the money, and double as much, if necessary, and divide the winnings with you, half and half.  There, now—­I’ve signed; make your promise good if you can.  Show me a copy of the London Times only ten days old.”

“Here it is—­and with it these buttons and a memorandum book that belonged to the man the shark swallowed.  Swallowed him in the Thames, without a doubt; for you will notice that the last entry in the book is dated ‘London,’ and is of the same date as the Times, and says, ’Ber confequentz der Kreigeseflarun, reife ich heute nach Deutchland ab, aur bak ich mein leben auf dem Ultar meines Landes legen mag’——­, as clean native German as anybody can put upon paper, and means that in consequence of the declaration of war, this loyal soul is leaving for home to-day, to fight.  And he did leave, too, but the shark had him before the day was done, poor fellow.”

“And a pity, too.  But there are times for mourning, and we will attend to this case further on; other matters are pressing, now.  I will go down and set the machinery in motion in a quiet way and buy the crop.  It will cheer the drooping spirits of the boys, in a transitory way.  Everything is transitory in this world.  Sixty days hence, when they are called to deliver the goods, they will think they’ve been struck by lightning.  But there is a time for mourning, and we will attend to that case along with the other one.  Come along, I’ll take you to my tailor.  What did you say your name is?”

“Cecil Rhodes.”

“It is hard to remember.  However, I think you will make it easier by and by, if you live.  There are three kinds of people—­Commonplace Men, Remarkable Men, and Lunatics.  I’ll classify you with the Remarkables, and take the chances.”

The deal went through, and secured to the young stranger the first fortune he ever pocketed.