ith his second glass of
wine. But then a clear look into his well-clothed face and red-brown
eyes would give the feeling: 'There's something fulvous here; he might
be a bit too foxy.' A third look brought the thought: 'He's certainly
a bully.' He was not a large creditor of old Heythorp. With interest
on the original, he calculated his claim at three hundred
pounds--unredeemed shares in that old Ecuador mine. But he had waited
for his money eight years, and could never imagine how it came about
that he had been induced to wait so long. There had been, of course, for
one who liked "big pots," a certain glamour about the personality of old
Heythorp, still a bit of a swell in shipping circles, and a bit of an
aristocrat in Liverpool. But during the last year Charles Ventnor had
realised that the old chap's star had definitely set--when that happens,
of course, there is no more glamour, and the time has come to get your
money. Weakness in oneself and others is despicable! Besides, he had
food for thought, and descending the stairs he chewed it: He smelt a
rat--creatures for which both by nature and profession he had a nose.
Through Bob Pillin, on whom he sometimes dwelt in connection with his
younger daughter, he knew that old Pillin and old Heythorp had been
friends for thirty years and more. That, to an astute mind, suggested
something behind this sale. The thought had already occurred to him when
he read his copy of the report. A commission would be a breach of
trust, of course, but there were ways of doing things; the old chap was
devilish hard pressed, and human nature was human nature! His
lawyerish mind habitually put two and two together. The old fellow
had deliberately appointed to meet his creditors again just after the
general meeting which would decide the purchase--had said he might do
something for them then. Had that no significance?

In these circumstances Charles Ventnor had come to the meeting with eyes
wide open and mouth tight closed. And he had watched. It was certainly
remarkable that such an old and feeble man, with no neck at all, who
looked indeed as if he might go off with apoplexy any moment, should
actually say that he "stood or fell" by this purchase, knowing that
if he fell he would be a beggar. Why should the old chap be so keen on
getting it through? It would do him personally no good, unless--Exactly!
He had left the meeting, therefore, secretly confident that old Heythorp
had got something