nothing whatever, I assure you, Warburton."

But Will was only half satisfied.

"You have no doubts of Applegarth?"

"Doubts!" cried the other. "Not a shadow of doubt of any sort, I
declare and protest. No, no; it's entirely my own idiotic excitability.
I can't account for it. Just don't notice it, there's a good fellow."

"There was a pause. Will glanced again at Applegarth's note, whilst
Sherwood went, as usual, to stand before the bookcase, and run his eye
along the shelves.

"Anything new in my way?" he asked. "I want a good long quiet read.
--Palgrave's _Arabia_! Where did you pick up that? One of the most
glorious books I know. That and Layard's _Early Travels_ sent me to
heaven for a month, once upon a time. You don't know Layard? I must
give it to you. The essence of romance! As good in its way as the
_Arabian Nights_."

Thus he talked on for a quarter of an hour, and it seemed to relieve
him. Returning to matters of the day, he asked, half abruptly:

"Have you the St. Neots cheque yet?"

"Came this morning."

"Payable to Sherwood Brothers, I suppose?" said Godfrey. "Right. It's
most convenient so."

Will handed him the cheque, and he gazed at it as if with peculiar
satisfaction. He sat smiling, cheque in one hand, cigar in the other,
until Warburton asked what he was thinking over.

"Nothing--nothing. Well, I suppose I'd better take it with me; I'm on
my way to the bank."

As Will watched the little slip of paper disappear into his friend's
pocket-book, he had an unaccountable feeling of disquiet. Nothing could
be more unworthy than distrust of Godfrey Sherwood; nothing less
consonant with all his experience of the man; and, had the money been
his, he would have handed it over as confidently as when, in fact,
dealing with his own capital the other day. But the sense of
responsibility to others was a new thing to which he could not yet
accustom himself. It occurred to him for the first time that there was
no necessity for accumulating these funds in the hands of Sherwood; he
might just as well have retained his own money and this cheque until
the day of the signing of the new deed. To be sure, he had only to
reflect a moment to see the foolishness of his misgiving; yet, had he
thought of it before--

He, too, was perhaps a little overstrung in the nerves. Not for the
first time, he mentally threw a malediction at business, and all its
sordid appurtenances.

A change came over Sherwood. His smi