"
Then at last Mr. Quest broke his somewhat ominous silence.
"I am very sorry to say, Mr. de la Molle," he said gently, "that I can
hold out no prospect of Cossey and Son being induced, under any
circumstances, to advance another pound upon the security of the
Honham Castle estates. Their opinion of the value of landed property
as security has received so severe a shock, that they are not at all
comfortable as to the safety of the amount already invested."
Mr. de la Molle started when he heard this most unexpected bit of
news, for which he was totally unprepared. He had always found it
possible to borrow money, and it had never occurred to him that a time
might perhaps come in this country, when the land, which he held in
almost superstitious veneration, would be so valueless a form of
property that lenders would refuse it as security.
"Why," he said, recovering himself, "the total encumbrances on the
property do not amount to more than twenty-five thousand pounds, and
when I succeeded to my father, forty years ago, it was valued at
fifty, and the Castle and premises have been thoroughly repaired since
then at a cost of five thousand, and most of the farm buildings too."
"Very possibly, de la Molle, but to be honest, I very much doubt if
Honham Castle and the lands round it would now fetch twenty-five
thousand pounds on a forced sale.
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