A shade of faint disgust passed over her face. "I am listening," she said.
"Well, then, I can see several ways in which the man can be of use to me. … I discovered him before you did, anyway. And what I want to do is to have a frank, honourable--"
"A--what?"
"--An honourable understanding with you, I said," he repeated, reddening.
"Oh!" She snapped her cigarette into the grate. "Oh! I see. And what then?"
"What then?"
"Yes; what then?"
"Why, you and I can arrange to stand behind him this winter in town, can't we?"
"And then?"
"Then--damn it!--the beggar can show his gratitude, can't he?"
"How?" she asked listlessly.
"By making good. How else?" he retorted savagely. "He can't welch because there's little to climb for beyond us; and even if he climbs, he can't ignore us. I can do as many things for him in my way as you can in yours. What is the use of being a pig, Leila? Anything he does for me isn't going to cancel his obligations to you."
"I know him better than you do," she observed, bending her head and pleating the lace on her knee. "There is Dutch blood in him."
"Not good Hollander, but common Dutch," sneered Mortimer. "And you mean he'll squeeze a dollar till the eagle screams-don't you?"
She sat silent, pleating her lace with steady fingers.
"Well, that's all right, too," laughed Mortimer easily; "let the Audubon Society worry over the eagle. It's a perfectly plain business proposition; we can do for him in a couple of winters what he can't do for himself in ten. Figure it out for yourself, Leila," he said, waving a mottled fat hand at her.
"I--have," she said under her breath.
"Then, is it settled?
"Settled--how?"
"That we form ourselves into a benevolent society of two in behalf of Plank?"
"I--I don't want to, Roy," she said slowly.
"Why not?"
She did not say why not, seated there nervously pleating the fragile stuff clinging to her knee.
"Why not?" he repeated menacingly. Her unexpectedly quiescent attitude had emboldened him to a bullying tone--something he had not lately ventured on.
She raised her eyes to his: "I--rather like him," she said quietly.
"Then, by God! he'll pay for that!" he burst out, mask off, every inflamed feature shockingly congested.
"Roy! You dare not--"
"I tell you I--"
"You dare not!"
The palpitating silence lengthened; slowly the blood left the swollen veins. Heavy pendulous lip hanging, he stared at her from distended eyes, realising that he had forgotten himself. She was right. He dared not. And she held the whip-hand as usual.