THE LAND OF DIAMONDS.
135
when tested. Further on was the account of the dealings of the firm with the Levant Petroleum Company, the treasurer of which had levanted with the greater part of the capital. Here, too, was a memorandum of the sums sunk upon the Evening Star and the Providence, whose unfortunate collision had well-nigh proved the death blow of the firm. It was melancholy reading, and perhaps the last page was the most melancholy of all. On it the old man had drawn up in a condensed form an exact account of the present condition of the firm's finances. Here it is exactly word for word as he had written it down himself.
| October, 1876. | ||||
| Debit. | Credit. | |||
Debts incurred previous to disclosure to Ezra |
£34,000 | Ezra, in Africa, holds this money, with which to speculate |
£35,000 | |
£15,000 raised at six months, and £20,000 at nine months |
35,000 | Balance in bank, including what remains of Dimsdale's premium |
8,400 | |
Interest on said money at 5 per cent. |
1,125 | Profit on the cargo of Maid of Athens, now in port |
2,000 | |
Working expenses of the firm during the next six months, including cost of ships, at £150 a week |
3,900 | Profits on the cargoes of Black Eagle, Swan, and Panther, calculated at the same rate |
6,000 | |
Private expenses at Eccleston Square, say |
1,000 | Deficit | 26,425 | |
Expenses of Langworthy in Russia, and of my dear son in Africa, say |
600 | |||
| Insurances | 1,200 | |||
| Total | £76,825 | Total | £76,825 | |
| All this money must be found within nine months at the outside. | The possibility of the sinking of a ship must not be overlooked—that would bring in from £12,000 to £20,000. | |||
"Come, it's not so very bad after all," the merchant muttered, after he had gone over these figures very slowly and carefully. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at