es' respectful interest, she raised her thin hand to her
hair, slowly pressing it back from her brow, and directed her big eyes
vacantly upon him.

"Yes, Soames," she said (her voice had a faraway quality in keeping with
the rest of her personality), "Mr. King speaks well of you. But please
do not refer again to"--she glanced in a manner at once furtive and
sorrowful, in the direction of the study-door--"to the ... little
arrangement of"...

She passed on, with the slow, gliding gait, which, together with her
fragility, sometimes lent her an almost phantomesque appearance.

This was comforting, in its degree; since it proved that the smiling
Gianapolis had in no way misled him (Soames). But as a man of business,
Mr. Soames was not fully satisfied. He selected an evening when Mrs.
Leroux was absent--and indeed she was absent almost every evening, for
Leroux entertained but little. The cook and the housemaid were absent,
also; therefore, to all intents and purposes, Soames had the flat to
himself; since Henry Leroux counted in that establishment, not as an
entity, but rather as a necessary, if unornamental, portion of the
fittings.

Standing in the lobby, Soames raised the telephone receiver, and having
paused with closed eyes preparing the exact form of words in which he
should address his invisible employer, he gave the number: East 18642.

Following a brief delay:--

"Yes," came a nasal voice, "who is it?"

"Soames! I want to speak to Mr. King!"

The words apparently surprised the man at the other end of the wire, for
he hesitated ere inquiring:--

"What did you say your name was?"

"Soames--Luke Soames."

"Hold on!"

Soames, with closed eyes, and holding the receiver to his ear, silently
rehearsed again the exact wording of his speech. Then:--

"Hullo!" came another voice--"is that Mr. Soames?"

"Yes! Is that Mr. Gianapolis speaking?"

"It is, my dear Soames!" replied the sing-song voice; and Soames,
closing his eyes again, had before him a mental picture of the radiantly
smiling Greek.

"Yes, my dear Soames," continued Gianapolis; "here I am. I hope you are
quite well--perfectly well?"

"I am perfectly well, thank you; but as a man of business, it has
occurred to me that failing a proper agreement--which in this case I
know would be impossible--a trifling advance on the first quarter's"...

"On your salary, my dear Soames! On your salary? Payment for the first
quarter shall be made to you to-m