He pointed to a tract of blue on the coast. ‘He bought this bit for two million dollars just before the boom. When we went to Western and Continental for a loan it was put up as collateral and valued at five million. Last week I was offered eight and three-quarter million for it. That more than covers the loan, of course. We turned it down.’

I did a quick mental calculation. ‘That’s an appreciation of about fifteen per cent a year.’

Idle grinned. ‘That’s why we borrowed money. We could have got it by selling land, but the value of the land is rising faster than the interest we’re paying you people for your money. It pays us to borrow.’

It surely did. I surveyed the map. ‘What’s the total value of the Salton holdings?’

Idle shrugged. ‘Difficult to say. Maybe about forty million dollars right now. The way things are going, in ten years’ time you could put it at a hundred million.’ He stretched out his hand and indicated areas. ‘These are the tracts that were put up as collateral for the loan and valued at eight million dollars. I could get twelve million for them now.’

It seemed as though Costello didn’t have to worry too much about the security of his money. ‘Do you always work in dollars?’ I asked.

Stern said, ‘Mr Salton lived in the United States a long time and thinking in dollars came easier to him. But Cam-panilla is converting its currency within the year, moving from Campanillan pounds to Campanillan dollars on a par with American dollars.’

Idle laughed. ‘The changeover will be easier in this office than in most.’

I said, ‘Tell me about the low-cost housing project.’

‘A few years ago Mr Salton came across a Canadian architect who had some good ideas about low-cost housing,’ said Idle. ‘On a pilot scheme the ideas worked and so he went to Western and Continental for development capital. We’ve built nearly a thousand houses and, at the moment, we’re completing them at the rate of about five a week.’

‘I hear they’re rented and not sold,’ I said, and Idle nodded. ‘How does that affect your cash flow?’

‘It doesn’t make things particularly easy,’ Idle admitted. ‘But we get by.’

‘Are the rents economic?’

He grimaced. ‘Just economic. We might make a one per cent profit.’

I said carefully, ‘Someone suggested to me that the rents weren’t economic and that Salton was building houses to buy votes.’

Idle flushed and said hotly, ‘Whoever said that is a damned liar. The rents are low because we keep our overheads down and because of the architect’s smart ideas. We’re not out to make a profit, but we’re not out to make a loss either.’