It was related as coming from his own lips that he
had schemed it all out to be revenged upon a group
of Jewish operators, against whom he had a grievance.
In confirmation of this tale, it was pointed out that,
of the seven men still held pinned in the fatal "corner," six
were Jews--and this did, upon first glance, look significant.
But then it was objected, upon reflection, that Blaustein
and Ascher had both been permitted to make their escape,
and this hardly justified the theory of an implacable
anti-Semitic vendetta. The objection seemed reasonable,
but it was met in turn by the point that Blaustein and
Ascher had been bled white, as Bismarck's phrase went,
before they were released, whereas the five Christians
had been liberated with relatively moderate fines.
Upon the whole, a certain odour of the Judenhetze clung
thereafter about the "corner" in Rubber Consols.
On an afternoon of the following week, Mr. Stormont Thorpe
was alone in the Board Room of the offices in Austin Friars.
He had risen from the great roller-topped desk over
between the windows, and walked now with a lethargic,
tired step to and fro before the empty fireplace,
yawning more than once, and stretching out his arms in the
supreme gesture of fatigue. After a dozen listless rounds,
something occurred to him.
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