"Quick work, Portlethorpe." "Oh, he gave good reasons!" answered Mr.Portlethorpe.

"He said, from the first, that he meant to do it--he wanted, and his wife wanted too, to get rid of these small and detached Northern properties, and buy a really fine one in the South of England, keeping Hathercleugh as a sort of holiday seat.

He'd no intention of selling that, at any time.
But--there's the fact!--he's sold pretty nearly everything else." "I never heard of these sales of land," remarked Mr.Lindsey.
"Oh, they've all been sold by private treaty," replied Mr.Portlethorpe.
"The Carstairs property was in parcels, here and there--the last two baronets before this one had bought considerably in other parts.

It was all valuable--there was no difficulty in selling to adjacent owners." "Then, if he's been selling to that extent, Sir Gilbert must have large sums of money at command--unless he's bought that new estate you're talking of," said Mr.Lindsey.
"He has not bought anything--that I know of," answered Mr.Portlethorpe.
"And he must have a considerable--a very large--sum of money at his bankers'.

All of which," he continued, looking keenly at Mr.Lindsey, "makes me absolutely amazed to hear what you've just told me.