and then with growing heat, he reviewed the advantages of backing out.

It involved a loss; but (come to think of it) no such great loss after

all; only that of the tontine, which had been always a toss-up, which

at bottom he had never really expected. He reminded himself of that

eagerly; he congratulated himself upon his constant moderation. He had

never really expected the tontine; he had never even very definitely

hoped to recover his seven thousand eight hundred pounds; he had been

hurried into the whole thing by Michael's obvious dishonesty. Yes, it

would probably be better to draw back from this high-flying venture,

settle back on the leather business--

Great God!' cried Morris, bounding in the hansom like a Jack-in-a-box.

I have not only not gained the tontine--I have lost the leather

business!'

Such was the monstrous fact. He had no power to sign; he could not draw

a cheque for thirty shillings. Until he could produce legal evidence

of his uncle's death, he was a penniless outcast--and as soon as he

produced it he had lost the tontine! There was no hesitation on the part

of Morris; to drop the tontine like a hot chestnut, to concentrate

all his forces on the leather business and the rest of his small but

legitimate inheritance, was the decision of a single instant. And the

next, the full extent of his calamity was suddenly disclosed to him.

Declare his uncle's death? He couldn't! Since the body was lost Joseph

had (in a legal sense) become immortal.

The Wrong Box