William sat silently for a few moments. 'If you both feel that way, I'll give it a try,' he eventually said. 'I must add that I don't agree with you, but I may be too personally involved to make a dispassionate judgment.

Give me a few days to think about how I should best approach him, and I'll let you know the outcome.'

After the two vice - chairmen had left his office, William sat alone, thinking about the action he had agreed to take, certain there could be little hope of success with Abel Rosnovski if Henry Osborne was involved.

Four days later, William sat alone in his office - , having given instructions that he was not to be interrupted under any circumstances.

He knew that Abel Rosnovski was also sitting in his office in the New York Baron: he had had a man posted at the hotel all morning whose only task had been to report the moment Rosnovski showed up. The waiting man had phoned; Abel Rosnovski had arrived that morning at eight twenty - seven, had gone straight up to his office on the forty - second floor aind had not been seen since. William picked up his telephone and asked the operator to get him the Baron Hotel.

'New York Baron!

'Mr. Rosnovski, please,' said William nervously. He was put through to a secretary.

'Mr. Rosnovski, please,' he repeated. This time his voice was a little steadier.

'May I ask who is calling?' she said.

'My name is William Kane.'

There was a long silence - or did it simply seem long to William? 'I'm not sure if he's in, Mr. Kane. I'll find out for you.'

Another long silence.

'Mr. Kane?'

'Mr. Rosnovski?'

'What can I do for you, Mr. Kane?' asked a very calm lightly accented voice.

Although William had prepared his opening remarks carefully, he was aware that he sounded anxious.

'I'm a little worried about your holdings in Lesters Bank, Mr.

Rosnovski,' he said, 'and indeed in the strong position you have built up in one of the companies we represent. I thought perhaps the time had come for us to meet and discuss your full intentions. There is also a private matter I should like to make known to you.'

Another long silence. Had he been cut off? 'There are no conditions which would ever make a meeting with you possible, Kane. I know enough about you already without wanting to hear your excuses about the past. You keep your eyes open all the time, and you'll find out only too clearly what my intentions are, and they differ greatly from those you will find in the Book of Genesis, Mr. Kane. One day you're going to want to jump out of the twelfth floor window of one of my hotels, because you'll be in deep trouble with Lester's Bank over your own holdings. I only need two more per cent to invoke Article Seven, and we both know what that means, don't we? Then perhaps you'll appreciate for the first time what it felt like for Davis Leroy, wondering for months what the bank might do with his life. Now you can sit and wonder for years what I am going to do with yours once I obtain that eight per cent!

Abel Rosnovski's words chilled William, but somehow he forced himself to carry on calmly, while at the same time banging his fist angrily on the table. 'I can understand how you feel, Mr. Rosnovski, but I still think it would be wise for us to get together and talk this whole thing out.

There are one or two aspects of the affair I know you can't be aware of.'

'Like the way you swindled Henry Osborne out of five hundred thousand dollars, Mr. Kane?'

William was momentarily speechless and wanted to explode, but once again managed to control his temper.

'No, Mr. Rosnovski, what I wanted to talk to you about has nothing to do with Mr. Osborne. It's a personal matter and it involves only you.

However, I most emphatically assure you that I have never swindled Henry Osborne out of one red cent!

'That's not Henry's version. He says you were responsible for the death of your own mother, to make sure that you didn't have to honour a debt to him. After your treatment of Davis Leroy, I find that only too easy to believe.'

William had never had to fight harder to control his emotions, and it took him several seconds to muster a reply. 'May I suggest we clear this whole misunderstanding up once and for all by meeting at a neutral place of your choice where no one would recognise us?'

'There's only one place left where no one would recognise you, Mr - Kane.'

'Where's that?' asked William.

'Heaven,' said Abe4 and placed the phone back on the hook.

'Get me Henry Osborne at once,' he said to his secretary, He drummed his fingers on the desk while the girl took nearly fifteen minutes to find Congressman Osborne who, it turned out, had been showing some of his constituents around the Capitol building.