It  was  here  he  counted  on  carrying  out  the  second  part
of  his  programme.  Now  that  the  Bondavara  Railway
was  nearly  finished,  the  castles  in  the  air  of  the  Abbe'
Samuel  were  beginning  to  take  shape;  the  next  step
should  be  a  gigantic  loan  in  the  interest  of  the  Church.
This  loan  would  be  another  means  of  aggrandizing  the
house  of  Kaulmann  ;  its  reputation  would  be  world-
wide. Already  Kaulmann's  name  was  of  European
celebrity ;  he  belonged  to  the  stars  of  the  first  order  in
the  financial  world.  From  being  a  baro?i  of  the  stock-
exchange  he  had  become  a  prince.     If  he  succeeded  in


320  BLACK    DIAMONDS

effecting  I  his  loan  he  would  be  a  king  of  the  money-
market,  before  whose  name  even  that  of  Rothschild
would  pale.
