A hundred pounds
will not go very far, but Joseph took care to be well dressed, and
allowed it to be surmised by those with whom he came in contact that
the resources at his command were considerable. In early days, as we
know, he had worked at electroplating, and the natural bent of his
intellect was towards mechanical and physical science; by dint of
experimenting at his old pursuit, he persuaded himself, or at all
events attained plausibility for the persuading of others, that he
had discovered a new and valuable method of plating with nickel, He
gave it out that he was in search of a partner to join him in
putting this method into practice. Gentlemen thus situated naturally
avail themselves of the advertisement columns of the newspaper, and
Joseph by this means had the happiness to form an acquaintance with
one Mr. Polkenhorne, who, like himself, had sundry schemes for
obtaining money without toiling for it in the usual vulgar way.
Polkenhorne was a man of thirty-five, much of a blackguard, but
keen-witted, handsome, and tolerably educated; the son of a
Clerkenwell clockmaker, he had run through an inheritance of a few
thousand pounds, and made no secret of his history--spoke of his
experiences, indeed, with a certain pride.
Pages:
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387