GEORGE WENDERN 
 GAVE A PARTY
 
 GEORGE WENDERN GAVE A PARTY
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN INGLIS 
 
 Hans BreUmann gife a barly 
 Vhere ish dot barty now? 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 1912
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 Dramatic and All Rights Reserved 
 Published May, 1912
 
 GEORGE WENDERN GAVE 
 A PARTY
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 BUT the party comes far on in the story. 
 When George Wendern had realised that 
 the details of the house in Princes Gate bothered 
 him, he engaged Mrs. Berwick to look after them. 
 This was how she came to be seated at a writing- 
 table in the morning-room going through a pile of 
 tradesmen's books. Beside her was a bowl of 
 roses with the breath of summer in them, though 
 as yet it was only spring; she stooped over them, 
 delighting in the luxury of their being there more 
 than in their beauty. The French window stood 
 wide open, letting in the sunshine and the sweet 
 still air. Two steps led down to a small flower- 
 garden, with a light iron fence and a little gate 
 marking out its boundary; beyond the gate was 
 the well-mown lawn, common to the tenants of 
 all the houses. The room itself was furnished in 
 a manner that suggested wealth and a certain 
 amount of refinement; and Mrs. Berwick looked 
 almost, not quite, like the right person to be in it. 
 She was fairly young; there were days when she 
 might have been thirty, others when the lines 
 about her mouth suggested the nearness of forty; 
 pleasant-looking without being exactly pretty, a 
 
 3
 
 George Wendern 
 
 pile of light-brown hair on the top of her head, and 
 eyes that were blue or green or grey, it depended 
 on the shadows; occasionally, but only for a mo- 
 ment, there was an expression in them that was 
 shifty and adventurous, or anxious and question- 
 ing, the outcome probably of remembered strug- 
 gles and worries. Her figure was good, her waist 
 small, her dress well-made; on her wrist she wore 
 a blue enamel watch bracelet fastened with a 
 leather strap, on her fingers a few rings of no par- 
 ticular value; altogether she made an agreeable 
 addition to the room. 
 
 But she appeared to be uneasy. She opened a 
 book and looked at it, evidently to gain time, put 
 down some make-believe notes on the blotting- 
 paper in front of her, and then suddenly, with an 
 air of bewilderment and boredom, glanced at her 
 sister, Mrs. Rigg, who sat on a sofa patiently wait- 
 ing. It was only half-past ten. Relations had 
 no business to come so early, she thought, or to 
 come at all, unless they knew how to dress and 
 look prosperous. 
 
 Mrs. Rigg looked dowdy, she obviously belonged 
 to the middle class, she was forty-five, her manner 
 was conciliatory, nimble, and a little nervous. 
 
 "I'm always so busy in the morning," Mrs. Ber- 
 wick explained. "I wish you had come at some 
 other time and written first." 
 
 4
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "I thought I should be sure to catch you, that 
 he would have gone to his office. " 
 
 "Sometimes he doesn't go to the office at all." 
 Mrs. Berwick looked at her sister's hands, they 
 were thick-fingered and ugly, then down at her 
 own which were white and shapely; she considered 
 them a good asset. 
 
 "What does he do?" Mrs. Rigg's voice was a 
 pleasantly inquiring one. 
 
 "I don't know, and I don't care," Mrs. Ber- 
 wick was almost snappy; as if ashamed of it, she 
 went over to the couch and sat down by her visi- 
 tor. "I can give you five minutes more," she 
 said in a kinder tone, "then you must go; you do 
 understand, don't you, dear?" She put out her 
 hand and felt the texture of Mrs. Rigg's brown 
 skirt. "You mustn't mind my saying it." 
 
 "Of course not. Is he at home then?" 
 
 "I don't know. He came down to breakfast 
 quite early, I think he went for an hour's ride 
 but he generally comes in at this time to arrange 
 things for the day. " 
 
 " Do you see much of him ? " 
 
 "No. But I always use that writing-table, he 
 calls it mine, and I'm always here in the morning 
 ready for him. He likes this room, you see it leads 
 out to the garden," Mrs. Berwick gave a signifi- 
 cant smile, which conveyed nothing to Mrs. Rigg; 
 
 S
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "do put on your gloves, your hands look so" 
 she hesitated "so bad." 
 
 Mrs. Rigg was rather offended, "I have had to 
 work, and my hands show it. " 
 
 "I know, dear, you've been splendid." 
 . "And I'm going directly." 
 
 "Perhaps you had better," Mrs. Berwick tried 
 to say it reluctantly. " If he comes in he doesn't 
 expect to find any of my friends here. " 
 
 "Of course not," Mrs. Rigg meekly agreed. 
 
 "I've been trying to come and see you; but it's 
 such a long way and I've had so much worry with 
 my clothes. " 
 
 "You always look nice, somehow." 
 
 "I wish I did. Mercifully Princes Gate is a 
 good address, and if one walks into a big shop with 
 an air, gives enough trouble and is sufficiently in- 
 solent, it's possible to get credit for a few things; 
 but of course my name isn't in the directory as 
 living here, and bills do come in it's dreadful. " 
 
 "I'm so sick of bills." 
 
 "We all are. I hope Fred's going on all right?" 
 Fred was Mr. Rigg. "He must have missed you 
 all that time you were at Herne Bay. " 
 
 " He did, and he was out such a long time and 
 we had so many expenses. " 
 
 Mrs. Berwick felt that the tone had meaning 
 in it, and said quickly, "I know, I'd help you if I 
 
 6
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 could, but everything's so difficult." Her voice 
 was a fighting one, though it was soft and human. 
 
 The battle of life had told on both sisters. On 
 Mrs. Rigg outwardly: it accounted for her make- 
 shift clothes, her scanty badly done hair, the lines 
 on her face, her thin throat and nervous hands; 
 obviously she was poor, and tried hard not to be 
 envious of her more presentable sister. 
 
 On Mrs. Berwick it had told inwardly; for she 
 looked fairly prosperous and she had kept some 
 sort of pace with the world. She had always been 
 to theatres, or at any rate could talk about them, 
 about people, fashion, politics, music, in fact any- 
 thing; but she had grown self-regarding, and her 
 manner suggested an anxiety to do the best she 
 could for herself. Yet there were charming things 
 latent in her nature. And she had sentiment. 
 Long ago it had caused her to marry a drunken 
 lout, a man whose family had discarded him to 
 live on such borrowings as he could get. She had 
 loved him, tried to reform him, been beaten, sworn 
 at, disgusted, but all the time she was faithful to 
 him. She grieved for him when he died, hating 
 herself for the underlying relief it was; she had 
 worn deep and extremely becoming mourning for 
 him, feeling it to be his due, that it was not paid 
 for made it seem curiously appropriate. After an 
 interval which she considered decent (she had a 
 
 7
 
 George Wendern 
 
 sincere respect for the amenities), she set out with 
 undaunted determination to get her own living. 
 There had been many phases, but they were of 
 no importance now that she had arrived at Princes 
 Gate. "I live here in every luxury," she told her 
 sister after a pause, "but I haven't a shilling in my 
 pocket. " 
 
 "You look as if you had pounds." 
 
 " I know. One must do that. " 
 
 "Don't Cyril's relations do anything for you?" 
 
 "Nothing. Lady Berwick gave me to under- 
 stand they never would. They sent me some cast- 
 off clothes at first and invited me to luncheon now 
 and then, and generally offered to drive me after- 
 wards so that they might drop me and get rid of 
 me, which they did with great readiness. The 
 only money they gave me was to advertise for a 
 post, and then they insisted on my cutting out 
 the advertisement and sending it to them. It's 
 no good counting on me for I'm broke, my dear, 
 stony-broke. " 
 
 " But surely you get a good deal from Mr, Wen- 
 dern? He must be rich?" 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 Mrs. Rigg looked round. "The things in this 
 room are very handsome. " 
 
 "I wonder sometimes what they'll fetch when 
 they're second-hand." 
 
 8
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 Mrs. Rigg turned upon her sister quickly, here 
 was a clue to a situation from which she felt her- 
 self excluded, "Are you anxious about him?" 
 
 "Not precisely anxious; but I wish I knew more 
 about him. You see he comes from Australia " 
 
 " I never like Colonials, you can't measure them 
 in any way." 
 
 "He's not a bit like one. I believe his father 
 rolled in money, and I'm sure I hope he does." 
 Mrs. Berwick was silent for a moment before she 
 added with a sigh, "But he's so absent and dreamy 
 and inconsequent, you can't tell. He's mixed up 
 with a syndicate, that's why he goes to an office, 
 but he never says anything about it. " 
 
 "Does he know much about you?" 
 
 "Nothing. I am one of those women, my dear, 
 who don't talk about themselves: they are few 
 and wise. " 
 
 "You never told me how you got here. It was 
 while I was away, I was so surprised. How did 
 you manage it?" 
 
 "Through an advertisement." 
 
 "But didn't you make any inquiries about 
 him?" 
 
 "None. I was so sick of putting it in: 'A 
 young widow, thirty-two " 
 
 "And a little more," Mrs. Rigg gave a quick 
 laugh. 
 
 9
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Mrs. Berwick's tone showed that it annoyed her. 
 She went on severely, "'highly accomplished, ac- 
 customed to the best society, wishes to find a post 
 as lady-housekeeper to a gentleman of position. 
 Is accustomed to manage servants, has travelled, 
 can ride and drive. Highest references, salary no 
 object.' I spent four pounds on that advertise- 
 ment and only had three answers. " 
 
 Mrs. Rigg was much interested, she was so 
 seldom given particulars of her sister's doings. 
 "What were the other two?" 
 
 "One was from a clergyman in Lincolnshire: 
 sixty-five if he was a day and a water-drinker. 
 Temperance people ought to be taxed, then if they 
 didn't help the revenue in one way they would in 
 another. I came away and nearly took to my 
 bed." She stopped for a moment. "The other 
 was from a young idiot in Piccadilly who had 
 inherited a large fortune on coming of age; but it 
 was spent before he answered my advertisement. 
 He had a bad complexion, and asked what my 
 Christian name was. I told him I couldn't come 
 without a chaperon," she laughed at the remem- 
 brance; "he was immensely relieved when I took 
 my departure. " 
 
 "And the third was Mr. Wendern?" 
 
 Mrs. Berwick nodded. "He received me with 
 a deference for which I could have kissed him; 
 
 10
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 unfortunately it wasn't possible. He explained 
 that he wanted a lady to look after his house, 
 order dinner, able to head a table if necessary, and 
 that he liked things done so that they could be 
 seen with the naked eye. He said nothing about 
 salary," Mrs. Berwick added regretfully; she was 
 rather enjoying the confidences to her sister now 
 that she was well into them. 
 "And you didn't?" 
 
 "I felt that even to mention it would imply that 
 I belonged to a lower set than the one to which he 
 evidently thought I belonged. " 
 
 "Still, I should have given him a hint " 
 
 "Let me arrange my own affairs, Maria. I fear 
 I shall not be here much longer, for he is devoted 
 to Miss Fiffer, a great American heiress. She 
 lives ten doors off round the corner, you can see 
 her windows," she nodded towards the garden, 
 "and they meet every day; I believe they only 
 took the house to be near him. If he marries her 
 I shall be dispensed with, but meanwhile I shall 
 gain nothing by worrying him; only to be sent 
 away perhaps, to advertise again in the daily 
 papers " the door opened, she repressed a 
 start, "Oh, Rogers, what is it?" as the butler 
 entered. 
 
 " Mr. Bulson would like to speak to you, ma'am. " 
 "Mr. Bulson? let me see, oh yes, the wine mer- 
 II
 
 George Wendern 
 
 chant, ask him to come in. " She turned hurriedly 
 to her sister when Rogers had gone, "You must 
 go, dear." 
 
 "Of course, I quite understand," they kissed 
 each other, "remember our new address, 19 Cran- 
 berry Gardens, Hammersmith." 
 
 "Yes, of course. Good-bye, dear. I'll do what 
 I can, you know I always play up if it's possible. " 
 
 "I know you do." One sister went meekly out 
 while the other sister sat down by the writing- 
 table and became absorbed in the household 
 books till the door opened again. 
 
 Mr. Bulson was a gentlemanlike man with a 
 tall hat which he carried in his hand, he wore a 
 frock-coat and grey trousers; his appearance sug- 
 gested church on Sunday as well as commercial 
 activity on week-days. 
 
 "Good-morning, madam," he said. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick raised her eyes with a slightly 
 abstracted air and answered coldly, "Good-morn- 
 ing, Mr. Bulson. " 
 
 They looked at each other for a moment. "I 
 have come about our account," he said. 
 
 She smiled with surprise. "Your account?" 
 
 "It is very considerable, and we should like to 
 see it paid." 
 
 "Paid? It will be paid when Mr. Wendern has 
 time to remember it. " 
 
 12
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "We have sent him a good many letters on the 
 subject," he said firmly. 
 
 "Which was very unwise of you. You have 
 lost an excellent customer," her tone was almost 
 confidential. 
 
 "I should be sorry to think that." 
 
 "But you have " she shook her head regret- 
 fully. 
 
 "Oh well " Then an idea evidently struck 
 him. He looked round and hesitated. "Could 
 you, my dear madam, in strict confidence, of 
 course, tell us anything about Mr. Wendern's 
 position?" 
 
 "Position?" she seemed a little bewildered; he 
 wondered whether it was innocence or bluff. 
 
 "Perhaps you will allow me to sit down for a 
 moment?" He felt that the interview was be- 
 coming interesting. 
 
 She nodded; he took the chair on the other side 
 of the writing-table; his manner was still defer- 
 ential; but she knew perfectly that he had made 
 inquiries as to her position in the house. "I 
 understand that you are Mr. Wendern's adviser 
 and manager here. I need hardly say that to a 
 firm like ours immediate payment of an account 
 is of no consequence; but we want to be assured 
 that it is safe " 
 
 "A millionaire's account!" 
 
 13
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Mr. Bulson looked round again. "A million- 
 aire doesn't live as quietly as he does now, for he 
 has drawn in this year. We very seldom see his 
 name in the newspapers at fashionable parties 
 for instance. " 
 
 "He is tired of them. He goes to the opera a 
 good deal, he is always out, and " she stopped, 
 for she had not the least idea where he went. " He 
 likes the opera," she added lamely. 
 
 "I saw him there the other night with an ex- 
 tremely handsome young lady and her mother, 
 I presume? But I made inquiries and found it 
 was their box, not his. " 
 
 "They have taken one for the season; it was 
 Mrs. Fiffer's box; her daughter is an immense 
 heiress, " she added significantly. 
 
 "Humph I see, but I have an idea that the 
 reason Mr. Wendern does not entertain now is 
 that he feels the necessity for retrenchment, the 
 tiredness may be only an excuse. " 
 
 Mrs. Berwick was surprised and a little hurt. 
 "He said, quite lately, that he wanted to live as a 
 man should who was well-off, but with only Colo- 
 nial money. I think he dislikes ostentation." 
 
 "May I take it that your own presence here is a 
 proof that he is at any rate well-off?" 
 
 She gave a quick nod that reassured her listener. 
 He took her to be more worldly than she was, her 
 
 H
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 clear eyes seemed to him to be accustomed to 
 gather in main chances. "Thank you." He 
 rose to go. "We should be sorry to lose his 
 custom 
 
 "It would be a pity," she gravely agreed. "I 
 feel sure that you will get a cheque when he re- 
 members to write it, or is reminded at the right 
 moment. " She turned towards the writing-table. 
 
 "Thank you, madam." He stopped when he 
 was half-way to the door; his manner became a 
 shade more familiar. "If there is any friend of 
 yours, or" as if he were afraid of being untactful 
 "any charitable case in which you are interested, 
 we should be delighted if you would allow us to 
 send a little champagne, or a dozen of invalid port 
 to anyone in fact who has gained your sym- 
 pathy. " 
 
 "How very thoughtful of you, Mr. Bulson," she 
 said, "but I shouldn't like to take advantage of 
 your kindness. " 
 
 "The kindness would be on your side." He 
 waited and a little smile came to his eyes. 
 
 "There is a poor soul I'm much interested in. 
 She has a delicate chest and suffers dreadfully from 
 bronchitis. She lives at 19 Cranberry Gardens, 
 Hammersmith. I feel sure a little champagne 
 would be a blessing to her, would prolong her life 
 perhaps " 
 
 IS
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "I'm sure it would." 
 
 "She likes it very dry.'* 
 
 "It shall be sent." He took out a note-book. 
 " 19 Cranberry Gardens, Mrs. Rigg, very dry. It 
 shall be attended to at once. " 
 
 "It's very kind of you." She held outlier hand. 
 He shook it cordially. "That poor thing is so 
 delicate. " 
 
 "I hope it will do her good." He departed 
 brisk and satisfied. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick put her elbows on the table and 
 rested her face in her hands. "I would give any- 
 thing in the world to know," she thought. "Oh, 
 I wonder, I wonder " The door opened and 
 Rogers entered with the air that meant another 
 dun. 
 
 "The newsagent has sent for his account again. " 
 He put it down on the table. 
 
 "How much is it?" She had recovered in a 
 moment; her manner was admirable. 
 
 "Nineteen pounds seventeen and twopence. 
 'The Times' and four other dailies, including the 
 evening " 
 
 She pushed the bill away and bent over her 
 books as if she had no time for such trifling. 
 "Take it away and tell him that Mr. Wendern 
 never writes a cheque for less than twenty-five." 
 
 "Very well, ma'am, I'll tell him. " 
 16
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 She could have groaned with relief as he shut 
 the door. But it amused her too, for after all, 
 on a smaller scale, this was only the situation of 
 the first days of her marriage. She had rather 
 liked putting off the duns then: it was a new ex- 
 perience, and she took it to be characteristic of 
 the higher social plane on which her husband had 
 placed her. Later, when she had been a drudge, 
 a hungry dreading creature hiding from the man 
 whose habits were in a measure a revelation to her, 
 she had played the game of outwitting creditors 
 with desperation instead of amusement. "I 
 don't believe this billet will last long," she said to 
 herself. "I wonder whether he is a millionaire or 
 a beggar or an impostor?" She shook her head 
 at the last word, as if to discount it. "If only 
 that backwoodsman would come again, I could 
 find out." 
 
 The "backwoodsman," as she called him, had 
 appeared on the scene a few days before one Joe 
 Parker. Mrs. Berwick gathered that he had known 
 Wendern out in Australia. A little talk with him 
 might set her doubts at rest. She had only spoken 
 to him for a minute, for though Wendern had 
 introduced her, when she had made some remark 
 about the weather she had to discreetly vanish. 
 But she had seen that the friends liked each other. 
 They went out together, and Wendern remarked 
 
 17
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 the next morning that Parker would turn up again 
 in a day or two. A rough diamond, but somehow 
 she felt him to be a real one. She awaited his 
 second visit with interest: it was a detail that she 
 had discovered his eyes to be very blue, and had 
 seen in them, when he looked at her, an expression 
 that she felt to be pleasant admiration or friend- 
 liness. 
 
 18
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 EVERY one had met George Wendern five 
 years ago. He was supposed to be a mill- 
 ionaire, and had come from the other side of the 
 world. But little besides was known of him. He 
 never talked of himself nor of anything much as 
 a rule; but it was wonderful how expressive peo- 
 ple found his silence: women did especially, and 
 ran after him trying to beguile him to their din- 
 ner-parties and their week-ends in the country. 
 He went everywhere for a season, at first curiously 
 and then reluctantly, arriving late and leaving 
 early, till the time came when he refused most 
 things for fear of forgetting them later. During 
 his first year in London he frequently gave parties 
 himself, occasionally he gave one in the second 
 year; but it was noticed that he looked on at them 
 with an air of not much interested surprise, al- 
 most as if he were making an experiment he did 
 not find exciting. They were done well, but care- 
 lessly managed; of the applause that was heaped 
 on them, the eagerness to come to them, he ap- 
 peared to be unconscious, or, if told of it, amused 
 and incredulous. There was a curious fascination 
 about him. He was three-and-thirty perhaps, 
 
 19
 
 George Wendern 
 
 fairly tall, silent and reserved, with sometimes an 
 almost uncanny look in his soft dark eyes and a 
 smile that came seldom, but that gave evidence of 
 the charm and almost simplicity of his nature. 
 He seemed to be looking on at life, a little mystified 
 at what he saw, to be expecting, waiting, for some 
 meaning to develop itself, of his own share in it 
 at any rate, and, till it came, to be holding himself 
 back, reserving some latent force. 
 
 The queer thing was that Wendern appeared 
 first under the auspices of Christopher Lant. 
 Lant was a vulgar man, stout, easy, and good- 
 natured, immensely rich, or reputed to be, who was 
 taken on his face value when he suddenly came 
 from nowhere, a man who knew everybody, but 
 nobody knew how; and went everywhere, no one 
 knew why for a time. He lent money to men if 
 they gave him a chance, sent flowers and opera- 
 boxes to women, chocolates and mechanical toys 
 to children, entertained lavishly, subscribed to 
 charities, and just as it was beginning to be said 
 that he \vas a speculator, a company promoter, 
 extravagant in small sums while he harvested big 
 ones for his own benefit, he introduced George 
 Wendern, who was at least ten years his junior, 
 and had an altogether different personality. Peo- 
 ple wondered how the two men came to be friends, 
 and were told that they had known each other in 
 
 20
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 the colonies; but it was remarked that Wendern's 
 manner was always a little distant, as if the in- 
 timacy, if it could be called one, were forced, and 
 at the elder man's ostentatious parties, his dinners, 
 theatre-goings, and suppers, he was never to be 
 seen. 
 
 Just before Lant went away he was of the type 
 that always discreetly goes away the prospectus 
 of the Bangor Estates Syndicate appeared. He 
 flourished about it a good deal, and persuaded 
 Wendern not only to put many thousands into it, 
 but to become its managing director in England, 
 as he himself was in Australia. Wendern resented 
 the one or two titled guinea-pigs whose names were 
 mixed up with it; but Lant told him this was 
 necessary in England, and it never occurred to 
 him, since he trusted his friends as a matter of 
 course, to doubt Lant's good faith. Lant put 
 all sorts of people into the Syndicate, and some 
 who knew Wendern followed them; for if Wendern 
 had no intimate friends, many people were at- 
 tracted by him even those who only came ac- 
 cidentally into contact with him felt his curious 
 magnetism. 
 
 He was rather amused at being "boss" of the 
 English office. Money had never been a difficulty 
 to him: it had come and gone so easily, and come 
 again with never any embarrassment to him, that 
 
 21
 
 ' George Wendern 
 
 the responsibility of managing it, of having to do 
 with money belonging to other people, and of its 
 actual necessity to himself, never occurred to him. 
 Once in the long years ago, before he could remem- 
 ber anything, his people had been poor; but it 
 hadn't mattered : poverty under a blue sky, where 
 necessities are few and luxuries as scarce as unde- 
 sired, and good fellowship a matter of course, is a 
 different thing from poverty in a city. 
 
 When he first came to England he took a suite of 
 rooms at the Carlton, but after a time he resented 
 the other people in the hotel. The eating and 
 drinking, the dresses of the women, the inane ex- 
 pression of the men this was in his second Lon- 
 don season irritated him. He used to see them 
 when he returned from a lonely stroll over Putney 
 Bridge, or to Richmond, where the windings of the 
 Thames, glimmering through the darkness, had an 
 unceasing fascination for him. Later, for a little 
 space, it occurred to him to investigate the Em- 
 bankment after a theatre or some function that 
 had bored him, and the sight of the poverty- 
 stricken waifs and strays haunted him; and then, 
 more than ever, he shrank from the Carlton. He 
 resented especially the gobblers and guzzlers in 
 the softly shaded restaurant, clattering their 
 knives and forks and clinking their glasses, when 
 they would have been better off in their beds with 
 
 22
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 the windows open and the breath of heaven com- 
 ing in to purify their fatuous souls and suggest 
 some meaning to life. 
 
 Some meaning to life? Unconsciously he was 
 looking for it, and felt it near him, yet hidden by 
 an undergrowth and overgrowth. "Money has 
 a great deal to answer for," he said to himself one 
 day, half cynically; and gradually this idea took 
 hold of him. But it was the manner in which 
 other people used it that surprised him; with his 
 own he dealt as a thing of no particular interest. 
 He spent or gave easily, and without much con- 
 sideration, and worried himself not at all. It never 
 occurred to him to measure the result, till a long 
 interview with his bankers took him by surprise 
 and left him puzzled but not anxious, on the con- 
 trary, rather amused. 
 
 It was Lant who found the house in Princes 
 Gate the day before he sailed for Australia. 
 Wendern refused to consider it; he was tired of 
 London, and wanted to go to a desert. 
 
 " But the offices of the Bangor Estates Syndicate 
 are in Great St. Helen's, not in a desert, and you 
 are the Managing Director," Lant responded 
 blandly. "In a year or two, when many fortunes 
 have been made, you can go where you please. 
 Meanwhile, I'm afraid you must occasionally be 
 on the spot." 
 
 23
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "I hate the accursed rows of houses in London," 
 Wendern answered. "I hanker for a tent in the 
 middle of a green space. " 
 
 "My dear chap, I know what you mean, and 
 the house that I have seen is exactly what you 
 want. You will look on the Park from the front 
 windows; at the back there is a large and enclosed 
 garden reserved for the benefit of the tenants. 
 The people in the other houses are usually oc- 
 cupied in ministering or preparing to minister to 
 their vanities, so you will have the green space you 
 long for to yourself. The house is admirably 
 furnished: the amiable couple who did it have just 
 been divorced, and you can buy the whole thing 
 cheaply. The servants you can take on. The 
 stabling is excellent, a garage has been added in 
 fact, everything is there. And London is at your 
 feet; take my advice, don't kick it away even with 
 the softest slipper. You can entertain or not, as 
 you please, at Princes Gate, and the address will 
 sound admirable to the discriminating members 
 of the Syndicate; and it will prove that you are 
 a resident and not a bird of passage. I'm not sure 
 that it's well to stay too long at hotels especially 
 at hotels of a particular sort. Next time I come 
 to London I shall take a house for the season. I 
 am always afraid of being called a speculator. " 
 
 "But you are one," Wendern said absently. 
 24
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Oh no, dear chappie, that's unfair. I am a 
 benefactor discovering the unknown portions of 
 the earth and insisting that they shall yield their 
 produce, or develop their possibilities, for the 
 benefit of men. It sounds almost scriptural, 
 doesn't it? I frequently read the Scriptures a 
 fine work, full of picturesque passages: some of 
 them would look so well on a prospectus. " 
 
 "You are a humorous blasphemer." 
 
 "Not at all, sonnie, not at all." Lant's tone 
 was almost affectionate; for no matter what his 
 faults might be, he had a liking for Wendern, 
 and he knew, and had even a respect for, the 
 qualities that went to the making of his character. 
 "Talking of speculators, did you ever notice that 
 the big birds, vultures let us call them, and the 
 big fishes, sharks, let us say, make it their business 
 to stay at one of five hotels in London ? When 
 they are there, you may conclude that they deal in 
 millions; if you nibble at the bait, you know that 
 the stakes are worth considering. This is why, 
 next time I come, I shall avoid those luxurious 
 haunts. If I stay at any hotel it will be one of the 
 quieter places! some haunt of the county mag- 
 nates, the well-dowered spinsters, and dowagers 
 whose husbands knew that generosity is a supreme 
 virtue in the eyes of women." 
 
 "Now and then it has crossed my mind that 
 25
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 you are a scoundrel, Lant. " Wendern's voice pre- 
 vented his words from being offensive. 
 
 "So unkind of you." The manner was still 
 soft and pleasant. "By the way, is it true that 
 there is to be a lawsuit about the Derryford 
 Docks?" 
 
 "I heard something about it." 
 
 "It will interest you to the extent of a good 
 many thousands if you allow it to come to one?" 
 
 "Yes; and I shall, if it is necessary. They have 
 behaved scandalously." 
 
 "Still, I would overlook it if possible. In a 
 lawsuit both sides usually get the worst of it; it 
 would be a pity if the thousands fell into the gap 
 between." Lant had a righteous horror of all 
 legal proceedings: he thought they proved that 
 one of the parties concerned had shown a lamen- 
 table lack of the art of propitiation, and the other 
 of an equable temper. 
 
 "It wouldn't matter," Wendern said with a 
 shrug. "There are things one has to do; the cost 
 is counted later." 
 
 26
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 T7V3R nearly two years Wendern lived at Princes 
 -1- Gate quietly and apparently content. He saw 
 few and fewer people; he appeared to be thinking 
 out some problem that gradually presented it- 
 self out of the mists and silences that gathered 
 round him. Beyond them a sense of develop- 
 ments sometimes dreamily haunted him, but he 
 was neither curious nor impatient; they would 
 come as surely as the soft-footed days of the years 
 he had to live, and he was content to wait. 
 
 The Bangor Estates Syndicate provided him 
 with a certain amount of excitement. The statu- 
 tory meeting at the end of the first year being 
 highly satisfactory, and the accounts from Lant 
 extravagantly good, the shareholders were reck- 
 less and exhilarated. Then there had been a some- 
 what sudden drop, a gradual reaction, a sense of 
 things not going so well, which annoyed him; but 
 he shook off his vexation, all things had their 
 ebb and flow, he thought; it was the inevitable 
 law. The ebb seemed to prolong itself, there was 
 no violent slump, but a gradual slackening; and 
 the time came when uneasiness rather than annoy- 
 ance oppressed him. Threatenings, too, of an un- 
 pleasant sort seemed to be in the air.
 
 George Wendern 
 
 The developments began when he least sus- 
 pected it, and in more than one direction. Lord 
 Derbyshire, a fair-haired young man, a bit of a 
 fool, but harmless, whom Lant had used freely for 
 Syndicate purposes, dropped in one morning. 
 
 "I say, I want you to come and dine at Cla- 
 ridge's to-morrow," he said. "I have persuaded 
 my uncle, old Lord Kenton, you know, to let me 
 give a party there awful lark; he'll pay the bill 
 and all that. He is getting old and afraid of 
 mortifying before his son gets married son 
 doesn't want to marry. He's the only son, and 
 uncle Kentie thinks he ought. Told him I'd in- 
 vite that American girl, Katherine Fiffer, ever 
 hear of her?" 
 
 Wendern shook his head. 
 
 "Awfully nice girl, carries her head as if she 
 thought a lot of it; she and her mother are staying 
 at the Ritz, they talk of settling in London; got 
 money to spend, cartloads of it. Uncle Kentie 
 thinks it ought to be kept in the country, some 
 one ought to marry her; he's too old to do it him- 
 self, and Malcolm son, you know doesn't like 
 women, prefers motors, lives in a garage. Rather 
 think he wants me to take her on, but I don't 
 expect she'd rise to that. " 
 
 "Probably there won't be much difficulty in 
 finding some one else. " 
 
 28
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Daresay not. Loads of cash, you know. " 
 
 "I'm beginning to see," Wendern said slowly, 
 "that there's just one great power left in England, 
 and every one is trying to grab it." 
 
 " What is it ? Might give me the tip. " 
 
 "Money." 
 
 "Awful bore not having it." 
 
 "It has never troubled me much." 
 
 "Wait till it's gone, then it will. Seems to 
 make itself into a sort of ghost you can't lay hold 
 of, comes and worries you last thing at night and 
 in the small hours of the morning; tells you you've 
 been an ass, and has a nasty nagging way. You 
 see, money isn't any good unless you spend it, and 
 when you do, you haven't got it any longer." 
 The fatuous face looked anxious. 
 
 The poor chap couldn't help being an idiot, 
 Wendern thought. "I didn't know you were 
 worried about this sort of thing," he said; "the 
 right use of money will be the world's next prob- 
 lem." 
 
 "Daresay; but problems are an awful nuisance. 
 One sort worries you when you're at school, an- 
 other sort puts you in the divorce court think it's 
 best to keep clear of them myself. Wonder what 
 you'll say to Miss Fiffer?" 
 
 "Are you in love with her?" 
 
 "No. She's a fine girl, of course, but I like 'em 
 29
 
 George Wendern 
 
 more lively the sort you see on the stage; there's 
 an awfully fetching one at the Prince's; I happen 
 to know her a little. " 
 
 "Does that mean a good deal?" 
 
 "It would if I could raise some cash if that 
 Syndicate of Lant's would jump up now. It 
 doesn't matter what else you've got, if you haven't 
 ready money it's the deuce. I wish you would 
 put me in the way of a thousand or two. " 
 
 Wendern shook his head. "Not to go that 
 journey. Look here, you're a big land-owner: I 
 have been thinking that there must be work cut 
 out for all of us " 
 
 "Oh, I say, if you're going to think again, I'm 
 off thinking is just about the worst thing you 
 can do if you want to enjoy yourself, assure you it 
 is, and if you don't enjoy yourself, what's the good 
 of anything? Besides, my lot the land I mean 
 is pretty rotten. Everything on it nearly lying full 
 length because it can't stand up any longer, and 
 not another mortgagee will even look round it." 
 
 At ten minutes past eight the next evening 
 Wendern stood in a group that had gathered for 
 the dinner-party in one of the larger rooms at 
 Claridge's. He turned his head towards the door 
 as Katherine Fiffer entered. She was slim and 
 tall, brown-haired, grey-eyed and dreamy-looking; 
 
 30
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 her mouth was grave and sweet, yet almost roguish 
 when she smiled, and she carried herself like a 
 princess in a fairy tale. He seldom noticed 
 women, or rather he always noticed them, and 
 forgot them an hour after they had vanished; 
 but her face haunted him from the first moment; 
 she drew him to her, held him and filled his life, 
 not insistently so much as unceasingly, standing 
 out in his thoughts as the one woman in the world. 
 He bent forward a little as if he had been waiting 
 when she passed him after shaking hands with her 
 host, then drew back, remembering they had never 
 spoken, for, though he was dreamily wonderstruck 
 at meeting her, he had no sense of their being 
 strangers. He felt as if a curtain had been drawn 
 aside, a misty veil lifted, and in the moment before 
 it dropped again whole distances seemed to spread 
 out behind and before him; a hundred different 
 thoughts chased themselves vaguely through his 
 brain; and the sum of it all was that he had seen 
 the woman he would love, who would be his wife; 
 and the future was no longer a mystery to him : 
 only the precise manner in which it would shape 
 itself, and whether its freight was joy or sorrow, 
 was hidden. 
 
 "I think she's just about the most rippin' girl 
 I ever met I mean, for a girl who isn't lively," 
 Derbyshire said to him later. 
 
 31
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "She's not a girl, she's a woman." Wendern 
 seemed to be speaking to himself rather than to 
 his companion. 
 
 "Oh, I say" Derbyshire looked almost dis- 
 concerted, for to him girlhood was everything, "I 
 shouldn't think she was more than four-and- 
 twenty; that isn't too far on, is it?" 
 
 "Too far on? Age isn't counted by years: 
 there are children who are women and have never 
 been young; and women who are children, and 
 will carry youth about with them as long as they 
 live." 
 
 "Awfully lucky for them, you know; wonder 
 what the dodge is?" 
 
 "It's doing or thinking that turns mere con- 
 sciousness into living, and lights up the years or 
 darkens them. I've been learning that lesson 
 during the last year." 
 
 "Thinking is all nonsense, I've told you that 
 already, it only worries you. " 
 
 "It's the root in the ground." 
 
 "I get along all right without it, do just what 
 comes into my head; flowers that bloom in the 
 spring haven't much root but they've a gay 
 time." Derbyshire felt that he was being witty. 
 
 "And the other way uses you up. The worst of 
 it is that things come hurrying after you some- 
 times, and won't be shunted." 
 
 32
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 Derbyshire was puzzled again. "I never know 
 whether you are talking rot or awfully good stuff," 
 he said. 
 
 "Neither do I," there was a smile in Wendern's 
 eye. "I say what I feel, and let the rest settle 
 itself." 
 
 He sat next to Mrs. Fiffer at dinner. A some- 
 what sharp-eyed woman with a thin face, a kindly 
 smile, quick and eager, who looked as if she re- 
 membered many vicissitudes in life and had fought 
 them bravely. As a matter of fact, she was a little 
 uneasy with her wealth and not altogether at home 
 in her finery; but she went on, interested and de- 
 termined to grapple with the new difficulties just 
 as she had done with the old, bringing the same 
 qualities to bear upon them. She told Wendern 
 that she was a widow, with only Katherine, and 
 no relations to look after them. They meant to 
 settle down in England for a few months, perhaps 
 altogether; she didn't know yet. It depended 
 a good deal on whether they could find a house 
 that would do; anyway she thought English peo- 
 ple were quite charming, and they were so kind. 
 Now, where would he advise her to look for a 
 house ? 
 
 "You can have mine, I'm tired of it." 
 
 "Why, how long have you had it?" 
 
 "Two years." 
 
 33
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Don't you like it?" 
 
 "I never thought as to whether I did or 
 didn't, but I wasn't made for houses. They 
 usually have rooms with four walls and ceilings 
 roofing them in " 
 
 "Why?" she looked up at him in wonder; 
 there was a far-off look in his eyes that made her 
 think of wide spaces and the great simplicities 
 among which the early years of her life had been 
 spent, "you can't have houses without rooms?" 
 
 "And then I don't know what to do with the 
 servants. " 
 
 "Well, with us," said Mrs. Fiffer she spoke 
 with a strong American accent "they're just the 
 biggest handful we've got, and I'm told they're 
 a worry over here too. How is it?" 
 
 "There's nothing the matter with them funda- 
 mentally, but I never know where they are or what 
 to say to them, and I get tired of looking at furni- 
 ture." 
 
 "Now, that's a funny thing to say. I expect 
 your things are lovely?" 
 
 "There's nothing the matter with the things, 
 except that they're there; nor with the house it- 
 self, except that I don't know what to do with it. 
 It is always standing in the same place, you see." 
 
 "Who lives with you?" 
 
 "No one." 
 
 34
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Never been married?" 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 "Well, I'd get some relations round me." 
 
 "I haven't any." 
 
 "Then why in the world did you take a big 
 house in Princes Gate?" 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. "I should beat my 
 head against the walls of a small one. I'm used 
 to prairies but there are none in England, and 
 too many people in London. " 
 
 She was quite pleased. "That's just what I 
 feel about New York, Mr. Wendern. It's all over 
 people, and the way they hustle, why you'd think 
 every one of them was going to die in about eigh- 
 teen months' time, and had to hurry all he could 
 into the bit of life that's left. " 
 
 Then, with what seemed like a little gust of 
 affection for her country, she added, "But it 
 keeps a sky over their heads all the time, so that 
 they can see their way about, and a blue one too, 
 even in winter, when the wind is sticking knives 
 into you round Flatiron Corner." 
 
 After dinner she told Katherine of her conversa- 
 tion with Wendern. "He ought to hear what you 
 think of England," she said as he went up to them. 
 They were standing near the doorway, watching 
 some arrivals at the belated evening party that 
 was to follow the feast. Mrs. Fiffer liked looking 
 
 35
 
 George Wendern 
 
 at them and thinking that they were second best 
 to herself, who had been thought worthy to sit at 
 the table; they were only given the crumbs from 
 it in the shape of odds and ends collected on a 
 buffet. 
 
 "England?" the girl said. "I think it's like 
 no other place in the world, that God tried His 
 'prentice hand on it when He wanted to make 
 heaven. " 
 
 "That's an idea," he said slowly. "But Amer- 
 ica was discovered a good deal later," he added 
 with a whimsical smile, "and the 'prentice doesn't 
 do the best work. " 
 
 "I love its little green fields and its fenced-in 
 gardens and beautiful ways. Best of all," she 
 went on as if she had not heard him, "I think 
 I love its old country-houses and the legends 
 they've got about them. Why, Mr. Wendern, 
 England is hundreds of romances and living 
 pictures doesn't that strike you?" 
 
 "I never looked at it from that point of view." 
 
 "I love its age so, and all the places that are fall- 
 ing to pieces did you never realise the music there 
 is in the word medieval?" 
 
 "I don't think I ever did." 
 
 "Well, probably you never had occasion to use 
 it in your country any more than they had in mine, 
 so didn't worry about it; but I've always longed 
 
 36
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 to see what it meant; it conjures up visions of 
 knights in armour, and battlements, and stained- 
 glass windows, and swords put in patterns on walls, 
 clanging gates and drawbridges, and beautiful 
 ladies riding forth on didn't they call them 
 palfreys ? and troubadours and Saxons and 
 Danes " . 
 
 "You've been reading poetry, Miss Fiffer 
 'Saxon and Norman and Dane are we' 
 
 "It's Tennyson, of course," the joy in her smile 
 chased the dreamy expression away "there's 
 another English thing poetry, England is full of 
 it; the poetry that is just the voice of its traditions 
 speaking down whole centuries. Hundreds of 
 years hence I suppose we shall have our traditions; 
 we are doing our best, we are making them, and 
 our literature and poetry, but they will be differ- 
 ent, for the picturesque age is over in England too, 
 and we shall never have the ruins of one as she 
 has. That's why we love her so for what she 
 has been even more than for what she is; just as 
 she loves Greece and Rome; they had their turn 
 first. It's wonderful how things are dealt out 
 all round but some are not picturesque. " 
 
 "They were, before any country had its turn, 
 or traditions were invented." 
 
 "But it's the traditions that make England so 
 wonderful," she persisted, "they haunt me I 
 love them. " 
 
 37
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "I expect she didn't remember she was making 
 a quotation at first," Mrs. FifFer said, by way of 
 an apology, when Katherine had crossed to the 
 other side of the room. "You see she's not col- 
 lege reared, as most American girls are now. I 
 don't hold with the plan myself, and would never 
 let her go. She's had to find herself as I did; but 
 she's had more books to do it with, and seen more, 
 ten times more, than I'd done at her age, and what 
 she's not got in knowledge, Mr. Wendern, she's 
 got in high spirit she knows how she wants to 
 live and what she wants to have and do. I'm so 
 struck with her sometimes but I sit and say noth- 
 ing, and wonder what it'll all come to." 
 
 "She's beautiful," Wendern said, surprised at 
 this sudden burst of confidence. He moved for- 
 ward a chair; she took it gratefully. 
 
 "Well, I'm glad you think that I think it my- 
 self, but mothers are often just foolish. Anyway, 
 they seem to be taking to her over here, and the 
 way people send invitations " She turned to 
 listen to the wiles of a dowager who had eligible sons 
 and had heard that the American woman was rich. 
 
 "That's a handsome girl," Sir Charles Pierce 
 said to Wendern as they stood together watching 
 the room. 
 
 "She looks as if Nature still held her unadul- 
 terated; and she walks as if she remembered the 
 
 backwoods : " 
 
 38
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Not much backwoods about her," Sir Charles 
 answered. "I should call it New York or Chicago 
 out of which her father collected a few million 
 dollars which were put to her account when he 
 went to the next world." 
 
 "That's against her 
 
 The other man covered his density with, "The 
 mother's rather a corker, isn't she?" 
 
 "Not bad; she looks as if she'd been used to 
 simpler things than she has now it's to her credit 
 that she doesn't forget them." He went back to 
 her presently. He liked the freshness of her, the 
 suggestion that the wiles of New York and Lon- 
 don had surprised but not overwhelmed her. 
 "I've been wondering," he said, "whether, if you 
 are free, it would be possible to persuade you and 
 Miss Fiffer to lunch with me to-morrow at Princes 
 Gate?" 
 
 "Why, I'd be delighted, but I think Lord Derby- 
 shire said he was coming to us, and I wouldn't like 
 to throw him over, for he's doing his very best to 
 make us enjoy this country." 
 
 "I'll ask him, too, if you like?" 
 
 "Well now that is kind, and then we would see 
 the inside of your house. You said we might take 
 it off you; but I wouldn't like to drive you away. " 
 
 "There's one to let round the corner, that is to 
 say at right angles to mine virtually a few doors 
 off- 
 
 39
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 "We'd be neighbours." 
 
 "If I stayed " 
 
 "You'd have to stay if we came." 
 
 He looked across at Katherine. "I will," he 
 answered. 
 
 The next morning, the day the Fiffers were com- 
 ing to luncheon, he realised, as he often had done 
 lately, that household matters bored him. "I 
 must get some one to look after them," he thought; 
 "it's a woman's work to consider what one will 
 eat and what flowers shall be put on the table." 
 He took up the "Times" and his eye caught an 
 advertisement, "'A young widow, thirty-two' 
 Humph, rather young, perhaps she's older 
 women always lie about their ages 'wishes to find 
 a post as lady-housekeeper to a gentleman of posi- 
 tion ' well, I don't know about the position, but it 
 might be as well to see what her views are. " He 
 sat down and wrote to her. 
 
 40
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 MRS. BERWICK was sorely perplexed; she 
 knew as little about Wendern, after four 
 months, as she had done in the first week, except 
 for the fact, gradually grasped, that money was 
 not forthcoming from him. He never seemed to 
 think about it. The attributes of wealth were 
 about her, but actual money she never saw. She 
 knew there were many unpaid bills, that even tax- 
 gatherers were sent empty away, and the rent of 
 the house was accumulating; yet though he never 
 for a moment struck her as being an adventurer, 
 nor dishonourable, Wendern was quite uncon- 
 cerned. Sometimes a shade of anxiety seemed to 
 pass over him, but that was all. He was kind and 
 considerate to those about him; he had always a 
 reserved and detached sympathy for pain or trou- 
 ble brought to his notice; but there seemed to be 
 an impalpable fence round him that kept would-be 
 intruders at a mental distance. 
 
 "If I could get hold of that Mr. Parker," she 
 thought again one morning a week after Mrs. 
 Rigg's visit, "why I might know something." She 
 pushed aside the tradesmen's books and the little 
 
 41
 
 George Wendern 
 
 white china slate she had made ready for the cook, 
 and putting her elbows on the table, rested her 
 chin in her hands while she tried to solve the rid- 
 dle of the situation. But it was useless, only go- 
 ing up and down a cul-de-sac. "There is nothing 
 to do but wait," she told herself. "It is wonder- 
 ful how many things smooth themselves out just 
 by waiting still I, for one, simply must have 
 some money soon." 
 
 Rogers entered. She looked up irritably: these 
 incidents of the morning were getting on her 
 nerves. "Oh, what is it?" 
 
 "A man has come with a waggon-load of 
 orange-trees, ma'am. Mr. Wendern ordered them 
 yesterday for the conservatory and balconies. " 
 
 "Good heavens!" She was thrown off her 
 guard, a dazed smile spread over her face. "A 
 waggon-load of orange-trees " 
 
 "He was told most of them were to go in the 
 dining-room. " 
 
 "Have them put there. I'll come and look at 
 them presently." In the dining-room were two 
 wide windows with a glass door between that 
 opened, as the French window in the morning- 
 room did, on to the little private garden, and out 
 to the lawn beyond. A cleverly managed mass 
 of greenery had given that end of the dining-room 
 the appearance of a conservatory, almost of a 
 
 42
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 wood. It made the light soft and gave the room 
 a curious air of charm and isolation. The house 
 had been reconstructed inside by a previous tenant, 
 and was the only one that had the whole width at 
 the back so arranged that it opened on to the 
 garden. 
 
 Rogers went on: "And Mr. Joe Parker is here. " 
 
 She gave a gasp of relief. How lucky that he 
 should come now while Wendern was out of the 
 way. "Oh, ask him to come in; I hope you 
 haven't kept him waiting in the hall?" 
 
 "He's brushing himself down he says he's a 
 bit dusty." 
 
 A moment later "the backwoodsman" appeared. 
 His face lighted up at seeing her; he pulled himself 
 together with an air of remembering that he had 
 just brushed his coat; a smart little woman, he 
 had called her to himself on his last visit, he was 
 glad to see her again and alone, "though it makes 
 one a bit nervous," he thought. 
 
 "Good morning, marm; I hope I see you quite 
 well?" 
 
 She looked up eager and anxious. "How do 
 you do? I am so glad to see you," then added 
 discreetly, as became a lady-housekeeper, "Mr. 
 Wendern will be here directly; he has been expect- 
 ing you, I know." 
 
 "You don't mean to say he isn't down yet?" 
 43
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Oh yes, of course he's down; he generally 
 rides before breakfast. Now, I think, he is in the 
 garden," she went halfway to the window and 
 looked out. 
 
 He caught the cut of her dress sideways, she 
 had a neat little figure, he thought. "Well, I'm 
 not in a hurry, delighted meanwhile to have your 
 company. " 
 
 "I fear you had so little time with your friend 
 the other day." She went back to her place by 
 the table and began her quest, but she felt that 
 it had to be done with discretion. 
 
 "Not much, marm, not much; get more now 
 perhaps." 
 
 "Oh, do sit down," he was still standing, "he 
 is certain to be here directly. How strange it 
 must be for you two from a great country to meet 
 in this little island?" 
 
 Mr. Parker looked at the chair, shook it, and 
 cautiously seated himself. "Not unpleasant, 
 marm, I can assure you. And if England is little, 
 why it does its best to make up for it." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 "It owns several pretty considerable bits of land 
 in various parts," he explained. 
 
 " But out there in Melbourne it is beyond Mel- 
 bourne, is it not? you must feel so different, so 
 free, such makers of the world." 
 
 44
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "I don't know that we make anything. Frozen 
 cattle, canned goods, and wool are the main prod- 
 ucts. Now and then a gold mine turns up; we 
 wish it did a little oftener, and that it wasn't just 
 a pocket, as it often is, and soon emptied. " 
 
 "Do tell me about Mr. Wendern's estate? It 
 is enormous, is it not?" 
 
 "Well " 
 
 "What does it chiefly produce?" 
 
 "Wendern's? Well, he could tell you that bet- 
 ter than I." There was amusement in his voice, 
 he gave an inward wink with his off eye. "The 
 little woman's trying to draw me," he thought; 
 "I don't think she'll get much to go on with." 
 But he rather liked her for it; quick wit appealed 
 to him, especially in her sex. "You see, as a rule, 
 a man is usually most interested in his own stock." 
 
 "And are you a millionaire too?" Her voice 
 was full of inquiring innocence. 
 
 "A millionaire too,'" he chuckled, "no, marm, 
 I'm not. I represent wool and a failure. A good 
 deal of Australia did that at one time, lately it's 
 picked up a bit. This last year or two I have been 
 in South Africa, or I should be poorer than I am; 
 but I came to England round by Melbourne for 
 all that. Now tell me about Wendern, do all the 
 women fall in love with him over here too ? " 
 
 "Yes, indeed. I don't wonder," she gave a 
 
 45
 
 George Wendern 
 
 little sigh; "you Australians are terribly fascinat- 
 ing." 
 
 "Well, so are you English women." He got 
 up and looked towards the window. "Who are 
 those people walking about there ? Isn't that his 
 garden?" 
 
 Mrs. Berwick explained that the lawn beyond 
 the little fence was for the use of the tenants in 
 general. 
 
 "There's a smart-looking girl, there on the right, 
 walking about with a woman in blue, her mother 
 perhaps. Why, he's with them " he started 
 forward, then checked himself. " Know who they 
 are, marm?" 
 
 Mrs. Berwick tried to hide her impatience, 
 "Mrs. Fiffer and her daughter the great Ameri- 
 can heiress." 
 
 "A well-built girl and walks as if she knew how. 
 I expect she's in love with him?" 
 
 "I don't know, Mr. Parker, perhaps she is." 
 
 "Well, I expect he isn't in love with her. Some 
 men run after women, and some men are run 
 after. George was always run after." 
 
 "I don't wonder. " 
 
 "He's a good chap, Mrs. Berwick, and not 
 afraid of anything, God, man, or devil; would 
 look on at the burning of his own soul, or the elope- 
 ment of his wife with a nigger, without turning a 
 
 46
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 hair. Done himself a few bad turns and never 
 flinched, done lots of people good turns and for- 
 gotten them the next minute. He and I have 
 known each other these twenty years and been the 
 better for it. Here he comes with the women 
 tacked on to him." 
 
 Wendern sauntered towards the window with 
 his companions, he hurried into the room when he 
 saw Parker. 
 
 "Joe!" he exclaimed, and grasped his hand, 
 "this is good." The two men looked at each 
 other for a moment, then Wendern turned to Mrs. 
 Berwick. "Mrs. Fiffer and her daughter have 
 come to wish you good-morning." 
 
 They had stood outside as if waiting to be 
 invited to enter. Mrs. Fiffer, matronly, good- 
 natured, and, as usual, conscious of her expensive 
 clothes; Katherine, slender and grave, in a white 
 dress, hatless, with a red parasol shading her from 
 the sun. 
 
 "Oh, dear Mrs. Fiffer, do come in; how nice to 
 see you, " Mrs. Berwick purred. 
 
 "Sure you don't object to early visitors?" 
 
 "Oh no, I like them." 
 
 "Well, it proves that you have genuine health 
 and a real complexion." Mrs. Fiffer spoke with 
 
 conviction. 
 
 M 
 
 I hope I have." Mrs. Berwick put on her 
 47
 
 George Wendern 
 
 bewildered look; she had tried it before the glass 
 several times. "And I love the morning, it is so 
 fresh, so full of Nature. How do you do, dear 
 Miss Fiffer? What a beautiful parasol." 
 
 Joe Parker standing aside said to himself, 
 "She knows the game uncommonly well." 
 
 "Is it?" Katherine answered. "I love red." 
 
 "But it's the colour of tragedy, of dreadful 
 battles," Mrs. Berwick sighed. 
 
 "I didn't think of that for I haven't met any 
 tragedy yet, or been far off enough to come upon 
 battles. " 
 
 "And yet you Americans are always travelling. " 
 
 "Well, you've such a lovely country to live in 
 here, I don't wonder you stay at home," Kath- 
 erine's face lighted up, and when she smiled it was 
 beautiful. "We've been talking to Mr. Wendern. 
 There is such a good floor in his drawing-room we 
 think he ought to give a dance. " 
 
 "You must persuade him, he'll do anything 
 for you. " 
 
 Wendern, standing near, added in a low tone, 
 "If I'm persuaded," then louder, "but I must 
 introduce my friend Joe Parker to you. " 
 
 Joe Parker, remembering again the brushing 
 of his coat in the hall, made his best bow, " From 
 Australia, marm, and glad to make your acquaint- 
 ance. " 
 
 48
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Well," said Mrs. Fiffer, when Katherine had 
 shaken hands and turned to Wendern, with whom 
 she moved slowly a little aside, "it seems to me 
 that all of us here know a good deal about long 
 distances.'* 
 
 "You're from America, marm, I take it from 
 New York?" 
 
 "You're right, Mr. Parker. J. B. Fiffer, my 
 late husband, was pretty well known there." 
 
 Joe Parker considered a moment before he 
 answered. "He was. I remember him twenty- 
 five years ago when I went to his office downtown 
 before he moved it up to Fifth Avenue, and had 
 a talk with him. I heard a good deal about him 
 later, and I consider myself in luck meeting you 
 here to-day." 
 
 "Now, isn't that nice of you," she beamed, and 
 forgot her daughter in the quick talk with the 
 Australian, till suddenly she turned to her and 
 asked, "What's he saying about the dance?" 
 
 "We have not discussed it yet," Katherine 
 answered with a little start, and went on to Wen- 
 dern, "We shall be at Kenton House to-night. I 
 suppose you will, too?" 
 
 "I didn't mean to go; I will if " 
 
 "And to-morrow we are going to Brighton." 
 
 Mrs. Fiffer heard the last words and went over 
 to them. " Friends of ours the Lough-Johnsons, 
 
 49
 
 George Wendern 
 
 don't know if you've heard of them, Mr. Wen- 
 dern? are at the Norfolk Hotel and want us to go 
 down to them for a week, but I'll be back sooner. 
 Katherine will stay over Sunday; she wants to go 
 to Rottingdean and see the house Burne-Jones 
 lived in and Kipling, wasn't he there? It's won- 
 derful how girls care for people who are talked 
 about; their mothers remember the world long 
 before all these writing people and picture paint- 
 ers were in it, and it got along very well. " 
 
 "It did," said Parker, "and I believe that we 
 could get on without most things they do. George 
 and I remember thousands of miles with nothing 
 on them but what sun and wind and rain put there. 
 As for books and pictures, and all you think so 
 much about over here, we never set eyes on them 
 and we did well enough." 
 
 "It wouldn't do to let them hear you say it, 
 Mr. Parker," Mrs. Fiffer answered triumphantly, 
 "but there are lots of things here we're not any 
 better for; however, we've got to have them, so 
 it's no good making a fuss." 
 
 It was strange how these people to whom mod- 
 ern conditions had given so much harked back 
 to the more primitive ones in which they had 
 been born. 
 
 "Mr. Wendern," she went on turning to him, 
 "Mrs. Lough- Johnson is coming to stay with us 
 
 SO
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 the week after next I would like you to meet her; 
 she's one of my oldest friends." 
 
 "I shall be delighted, and should have been 
 equally so if she had been one of your youngest. " 
 
 "Isn't that like a man," she beamed; "they're 
 all for the young ones. And now, Katherine, I 
 think we'd better be going in; Lord Derbyshire 
 said he would be at our house by twelve o'clock. 
 He's a delightful young man," she informed 
 Parker. 
 
 "It must be delightful to him to be thought 
 one," Wendern said. 
 
 "And he finds reasons to take him to our house 
 pretty often." Mrs. Fiffer put significance into 
 her voice. 
 
 "I've no doubt." 
 
 Katherine moved uneasily. "He's very Eng- 
 lish," she said. 
 
 "Very and a good fellow," Wendern was 
 speaking again. "May I walk back with you?" 
 He threw a smile at his friend. . 
 
 "You may go, George," the backwoodsman 
 said with a comprehending nod. 
 
 "If Mr. Parker doesn't mind being alone a few 
 minutes I should so like to walk back with Mrs. 
 Fiffer," Mrs. Berwick chimed in adroitly. "She 
 promised to tell me about the Woolwich ball." 
 She put her arm through the elder woman's and 
 
 Si
 
 George Wendern 
 
 walked on, cooing as they went. "Soldiers are 
 such dear brave creatures, fickle and badly-off, 
 and, oh! so fascinating! " Parker heard her say; 
 he smiled broadly as the voices died away. 
 
 "You didn't tell me you were going to Brigh- 
 ton?" Wendern said to Katherine as they crossed 
 the lawn. 
 
 "We were talking of other things. I don't want 
 to go one bit. " 
 
 "Then why do you?" 
 
 They stood by the little gate that went into the 
 Fiffer garden. "I don't know, I have to " She 
 stopped and looked up at a sycamore-tree that 
 shaded them. "There are things one has to do, 
 just to store one's memory; it would be a desert 
 if one didn't. " 
 
 "When are you coming back?" 
 
 "On Tuesday or Wednesday." She hesitated 
 again before she added, "Lord Derbyshire is 
 going to motor down one day. " 
 
 "You seem to have adopted that young man." 
 
 "He is worried about his property. I believe 
 it is often a worry in England. Old houses are 
 very beautiful, but they fall to bits and need a 
 great deal of money to keep them up. " 
 
 "I daresay." The subject didn't interest him; 
 he was thinking of something else. "Shall I 
 
 5*
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 come down too? not the same day as Derby- 
 shire," he added. "We might go over to Rotting- 
 dean together?" 
 
 Mrs. Fiffer, standing on her own threshold with 
 Mrs. Berwick, beckoned. 
 
 "Why, yes, but mother is waiting, I must go 
 in," Katherine answered. Something in her man- 
 ner, almost an embarrassment, made him ask 
 
 "Don't you want me to come to Brighton?" 
 
 ' Yes, yes, I want you to come. I'd love it. " 
 She said the last words softly and held out her 
 hand. "We could talk there, we can't in Lon- 
 don; there's too much traffic, too many noises 
 and people. We might be able to get away from 
 it all for a little while in the car, if you brought 
 it." 
 
 "I will." 
 
 She gave him a happy nod and turned toward 
 the house; then looked back over her shoulder 
 and said, "Think you migh^ come to Kenton 
 House to-night. I know you are asked; but if 
 you don't want why, there's an end of it. " 
 
 "I will. I do want to come." The light was 
 in his eyes as he turned away. 
 
 S3
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 IT was there when he went back to the morning- 
 room. "You must forgive my bad manners," 
 he said, and put his hand on Parker's shoulder, 
 "we always air them to our old friends." 
 
 "Quite right. I like them best, but they give 
 one away. Tell you what, George, that's a 'cute 
 little woman." 
 
 "Who which?" 
 
 "Why, Mrs. Berwick. The way she fastened 
 on to the mother while you walked off with the 
 girl was worth coming to see. " 
 
 "It was. She may have less virtue; I've 
 nothing to do with that one way or the other, 
 but she has more tact than any woman I've met 
 with for some time; and take it altogether, tact 
 is the better possession; it lasts longer and often 
 goes further, but " The door opened. "Oh, 
 here's Lord Derbyshire. " 
 
 Parker, unused to titles, looked up quickly, and 
 a shade of surprise passed over his face. He had 
 a respect for physique, and it struck him that if 
 this were all rank and pedigree could give in the 
 way of looks they were not up to much. 
 
 54
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "How do, Wendern?" Derbyshire seemed dis- 
 appointed at finding the room empty. 
 
 "How do you do? This is my friend, Joe 
 Parker." 
 
 Parker had risen, evidently expecting to be 
 formally introduced, and was making his best 
 bow. "Good morning, sir, I'm from Australia, 
 and glad to see you. " 
 
 "I say thank you." Derbyshire was over- 
 come by the bow. "Australia's an awfully fine 
 country, I'm told." 
 
 "It is, and there's plenty of it; in fact, it can't 
 be beat for size." Parker looked at him again, 
 and seemed to be waiting for something to justify 
 the title and probable position of the little fair man 
 before him. 
 
 "Well, it has more room to stretch itself out 
 in. You see, the Channel gets itself rather in the 
 way over here," was the profound remark. 
 
 "I suppose you've never been over to us, sir?" 
 Parker wondered if he ought to say "my lord," 
 but decided quickly and obstinately that he wasn't 
 going to do it to this whippersnapper. 
 
 "No. Never been farther than Monte Carlo, 
 that sort of thing good hotels, cook well, and time 
 always in a hurry, so that it's gone before you know 
 where you are rather a good thing, I suppose; 
 get bored if it didn't. Awful bore getting bored, 
 
 55
 
 George Wendern 
 
 you know. " Having disposed of Parker, Derby- 
 shire turned to Wendern. "I've been round the 
 corner; they told me Mrs. and Miss Fiffer were 
 here." 
 
 "They've just gone back." 
 
 "Well, if you don't mind, I'll go too. I've got 
 a bull pup for Miss Fiffer, and should like to see 
 it gets fair play with her Persian kitten." He 
 nodded to the two men. "I expect you're pre- 
 cious glad to get out of Australia," was his parting 
 tactful remark to Parker. The front door banged 
 after him. 
 
 "Why didn't you let him go across by the win- 
 dow, George?" Parker asked. 
 
 "There was no occasion." 
 
 "Miss Fiffer's a fine girl." 
 
 "Yes." Wendern's eyes turned towards the 
 house in which she lived. 
 
 "A great heiress, isn't she?" 
 
 "Thirty thousand a year, or more." There 
 was regret in the voice. 
 
 "Well, it would be useful." 
 
 "It's the girl I want, not her dollars." 
 
 "Got enough of your own left to match them?" 
 
 "No; but if she cares, it won't matter whether 
 I'm rich or poor. " 
 
 "It usually matters a good deal." 
 
 Wendern chafed a little, but tried not to show it. 
 56
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "I'm learning to hate the stress laid on money 
 the importance given to it. It is overrated, till 
 the whole world seems to turn on hands and feet 
 of metal," he said. 
 
 "Most people like it especially women." 
 "I know. And if I have it and she wants it, 
 it will add to my happiness to give it her. If I 
 haven't, she can fall back on her own; so it needn't 
 worry me." 
 
 "You seem to be pretty sure of her." 
 "It is amazing if she cares; but I should insult 
 her if I didn't think it. And I shall be done for 
 if " He said it almost to himself. 
 
 "George, you've taken it badly this time." 
 "I've taken it badly." Wendern changed the 
 subject. "Let's talk of home. How did the old 
 place look when you saw it last?" 
 
 "That's some time ago; but it looked the same 
 as ever. " 
 
 "Which means, as if Heaven had annexed it." 
 "I wonder what made you sell it?" 
 " I wanted to be free, to wander about the world 
 without the worry of possessions. But I 'm long- 
 ing to go back again; it's the soil from which I 
 grew, the sky which drew me up. I kept Sand- 
 way Strip," he added suddenly. 
 "The worst bit of all." 
 
 "I know; but a little shanty stood on it once 
 57
 
 George Wendern 
 
 in which my father and mother lived their first 
 years of struggle, when they were young and strong, 
 the whole world to each other, and often couldn't 
 see four meals ahead. I sit and think of it some- 
 times till I'm so homesick I could walk to it." 
 He got up and crossed the room. "I shall have to 
 go back; that will be the end of it. I'm out of 
 place in this country." 
 
 "Well, I feel that about myself already," 
 Parker answered slowly. "It takes a long time to 
 get used to the ways they have over here, if you 
 haven't been born to them. " Then, after a pause, 
 "Do you remember a queer-looking chap called 
 Longarm Jack?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "When I got back to Melbourne six months 
 ago, he came along and asked me if I thought 
 you'd sell that bit." 
 
 "I know, he wrote to me; he wants to put up 
 a cabin while he looks after Bender's claim, which 
 is next to it. He won't get it; nothing shall be 
 built on it, unless it's a home for me and mine. " 
 
 "I shouldn't think that likely." 
 
 "I don't know; perhaps some day it will hap- 
 pen. I'm tired of every crowded place under the 
 sun and of all they do in cities. " Wendern seemed 
 to be lost in a dream for a moment, but he always 
 spoke freely with Joe Parker. "I think some- 
 
 58
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 times that God's vengeance on Adam has been 
 civilisation," he went on; "it's a curse, and men 
 will go piling it up till they lie flattened out be- 
 neath it. It doesn't suit me; I hunger for the 
 old life, the prairies, the blue sky, the stillness and 
 work and the roughness. They prate about the 
 simple life here, they should try it there; they 
 would feel themselves back at the starting-point. 
 Let's talk of something else;" he held out his 
 cigarette-case. 
 
 "No, thank you, not my size. By the way, 
 George, when I was in Melbourne I heard you 
 talked of a good deal in connection with the Ban- 
 gor Estates Syndicate. They didn't think much 
 of it over there. " 
 
 Wendern looked up almost anxiously. Then 
 answered as if a thought had reassured him, 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I understand you're Managing Director here?" 
 
 "Yes, but it's Lant's deal. He went about in 
 London among the fashionable fools; any one 
 can do it if he's supposed to be rich. He intro- 
 duced them to the Syndicate." 
 
 Parker gave a grunt. "And, with your name 
 tacked on as well, the shares were pretty freely 
 taken up?" 
 
 "That's so. But I'm the biggest shareholder 
 after Lant." 
 
 "How is it going?" 
 
 59
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "At first the accounts were magnificent; then 
 they ceased altogether. Lately things have been 
 rather difficult. Six weeks ago Lant cabled that 
 he was on his way to England. He was at Naples 
 last week; he'll be in Paris next." 
 
 Parker gave another grunt. 
 
 "I always believed in Lant," Wendern said, and 
 added reluctantly, "Some people didn't." 
 
 "He's reputed to be worth four millions." 
 
 "Luck for him." There was a long pause; 
 then Wendern looked up again. "I wish I hadn't 
 played the fool, Joe; I should like the money to 
 be on my side, and not on hers. " 
 
 "But you have a fortune in the Derryford 
 Docks." 
 
 "Locked up in a lawsuit two hundred thou- 
 sand pounds. Everything I have is locked up, 
 for I have twenty-five thousand somewhere else, 
 and that can't move till the Dock business is 
 settled. " 
 
 "But, man, you don't seem to know that the 
 Dock case is coming on next week. " 
 
 "Coming on next week?" He was roused now. 
 
 "Didn't they cable? Don't you read your 
 Australian papers?" 
 
 " I haven't opened them. " He had been dream- 
 ing of Katherine all the last few weeks, of nothing 
 else. 
 
 " But the London papers have had telegrams 
 60
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 it's a big case, George. I was at the Agent- 
 General's yesterday he was full of it. " 
 
 "I have been mad and thinking about other 
 things; but I'll cable out inquiries at once. I 
 imagined it wouldn't come on for another month 
 at least. If it goes right all will be well. " He was 
 silent for a minute, his whole expression altered, 
 "You've opened up a vista, Joe, for it's bound to 
 go right. Life and the woman I love are coming 
 into line I feel as if I saw the masts of a ship. " 
 
 "Glad I spoke. Here's Mrs. Berwick again," 
 as the trim figure appeared at the window. 
 
 "Oh, but I'm interrupting you, I know I am," 
 she said with soft self-reproach. 
 
 "It's all right, Mrs. Mrs. Berwick," Parker 
 hesitated over her name, but he looked at her with 
 a deep-cut smile on his weathered face, "I'm 
 about going. " 
 
 She went half-way across the room, meaning to 
 leave them together, then stopped as if by a sud- 
 den idea. "I don't think you've seen the house 
 yet, Mr. Parker; I should so like to show it you. 
 The drawing-room is quite beautiful, that's why 
 Miss Fiffer wants Mr. Wendern to give a dance. 
 And there are some orange-trees that came this 
 morning, they would make you think of Australia 
 do oranges grow there? I'm so ignorant, I 
 don't know a bit. " 
 
 A gleam of amusement came into Wendern's 
 61
 
 George Wendern 
 
 eyes; this was a new view of his lady-housekeeper. 
 "Go and look at them, Joe," he said. "Mrs. 
 Berwick will show them to you. " 
 
 Parker consulted a big gold watch it slipped 
 easily out of a pocket that was evidently much 
 bigger. "Well, let's say ten minutes for the 
 orange-trees. I'll see you again in a day or two, 
 George. If I'm in the city perhaps I'll look you 
 up at the office." 
 
 "Do." 
 
 "Won't you come, too, Mr. Wendern?" Mrs. 
 Berwick asked as she lingered by the door. 
 
 "No, thank you. If you'll let me I'll write a 
 note at your table. " 
 
 "She's an uncommonly 'cute little woman," 
 Parker thought, amending his former verdict as 
 he followed her out "just the sort to have with 
 you if you want to go farther. " 
 
 Rogers had evidently been watching for his 
 moment; he found it when Mrs. Berwick and 
 Parker stood talking by the orange-trees. He 
 went softly into the morning-room and up to the 
 writing-table, "Beg pardon, sir, but can I speak 
 to you ? " 
 
 Wendern looked up; he was writing on a cable 
 form. "I believe you're doing so already." 
 
 "My mother's telegraphed, sir, fell and broke 
 her left leg." 
 
 62
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "That's bad. Worse if she'd broken the right 
 one too," the voice was sympathetic but ab- 
 stracted. 
 
 "And turned seventy-three, sir." 
 
 "A good age, Rogers." 
 
 "I wondered if you'd mind my going to her for 
 a couple of nights?" 
 
 "Of course you must go to her." 
 
 "Thank you, sir." Rogers hesitated, "It's 
 rather an expensive journey to Reading, if you 
 don't mind my saying so. There's the doctor, 
 and perhaps she'll need a few things. " 
 
 Wendern felt absently for his pocket-book and 
 opened it. "She'll need a good many things, here 
 are two five-pound notes. " 
 
 "Thank you, sir; is it my wages? They are 
 due- 
 
 " Wages? No, a little present." 
 
 Rogers tried not to show his surprise. "Oh!" 
 he gasped, "I've been awfully upset God bless 
 you for your kindness. " 
 
 A little smile came over Wendern's face. "I 
 hope He will, Rogers but I don't expect He'll do 
 much for a tenner," he added, when the man had 
 left the room with well-tempered elation. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick returned a few minutes later. 
 
 "Well, what did Joe think of the house?" 
 
 "Oh, he loved it," she said, "but we only went 
 to the conservatory, and then he had to go. " 
 
 63
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Ah, he regretted it very much, I'm sure." 
 He finished the note he was writing and rose as 
 if to go out. 
 
 She arrested him with a little movement, and 
 spoke in a cooing, apologetic voice, "Mr. Wen- 
 dern, the servants want their wages : it's ridiculous 
 of them, I know, but they do. Could you find 
 time to write a cheque?" 
 
 He stood by the fireplace, unruffled and still 
 preoccupied. "Why do they want their wages? 
 Rogers is going to his mother for a day or two, and 
 would only spend his if he had them. " 
 
 "But that class is so absurd, it generally ex- 
 pects to be paid once a-month. " 
 
 The statement appeared to interest him. " Prob- 
 ably that's why it's so unthrifty," he answered. 
 "Money paid in small sums is generally frittered 
 away. " 
 
 "But, dear Mr. Wendern, people will insist on 
 having it sometines, tiresome trades-people, for 
 instance; they are sadly democratic nowadays and 
 want everything." She took up the household 
 books from the writing-table. "I have some ac- 
 counts here of yours, and and one or two of 
 my own I should so like to pay. " She had found 
 courage to speak at last, but her hand trembled. 
 
 He seemed rather amused. "My dear lady, I 
 have too high an opinion of you to suppose that 
 you mean to corrupt your creditors by giving them 
 
 64
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 the use of your money. " He said it as if to dis- 
 miss the subject. 
 
 She put down the books with a gesture of dis- 
 may. 
 
 "How do you like the orange-trees?" he asked. 
 
 "They are lovely." 
 
 "By the way, there is a picture sale at Christie's 
 to-morrow. I must see if I can pick up an old 
 master or two to send home," he always spoke 
 of Australia as home, "one ought to make some 
 return to a place that is so hospitable as to let you 
 be born in it. " 
 
 "How thoughtful you are." 
 
 He smiled at her absently. He was thinking 
 of other things already. 
 
 He went to Kenton House that night, but only 
 for half an hour, he had outgrown that sort of 
 entertainment, he told himself; as a matter of 
 fact, he had never liked it. The host was old and 
 deaf and very rich, a widower with an only son; 
 he had been persuaded by a relation, an enter- 
 prising widow with daughters to marry, to give 
 a ball. She received the guests for him at the 
 top of the crowded staircase; behind her were 
 drawing-rooms full of people talking at the top 
 of their voices, beyond them the band and, be- 
 yond again, in a long gallery, the dancers. He 
 
 65
 
 George Wendern 
 
 searched in vain for Katherine, and found her at 
 last in one of the most crowded rooms. It had a 
 view of the stairs, through a doorway on one side. 
 She seemed to be watching for some one while she 
 talked; Wendern wondered if it were for him. 
 Lord Ken ton was beside her; his shrivelled face, 
 with the carefully brushed and dyed hair above it, 
 was bent towards her, as if he were deaf but try- 
 ing to gather what she said. Gradually Wendern 
 managed to get near her. She held out her hand, 
 but her manner implied that she did not wish to 
 be interrupted. A man he knew slightly caught 
 his eye, and he talked with him just to make time. 
 In a few minutes Lord Kenton left her, evidently 
 with reluctance; but he had other guests who de- 
 manded his attention; Derbyshire, hovering by, 
 adroitly took his place, and as if for a reason they 
 had already discussed, he and she slowly made 
 their way together towards a picture, beneath a 
 special light, and a group standing near it at the 
 far end of the gallery. Lord Kenton went up to 
 them, and presently Katherine disappeared with 
 him. 
 
 Wendern looked at the crowd about him again; 
 the faces were worn, the smiles on them seemed 
 spurious, the expressions strained or anxious, the 
 jewels theatrical, but he had never appreciated 
 diamonds; an acre of unspoiled land with the blue 
 
 66
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 sky above it was worth more to him than all the 
 gems in existence. "This place suggests a first-class 
 compartment bound for Hell," he said to himself. 
 "It's a queer thing that people who believe them- 
 selves possessed of souls should deliberately come 
 to it." He went on through the suite of rooms 
 towards the gallery; the band was playing a waltz, 
 the air there seemed full of gaiety, the dancers were 
 young. It was better, but he remembered the dim 
 ways of the park, the wide stretches of grass, the 
 long deserted roadways with the trees, Nature's 
 sentinels, beside them, and the stars glinting be- 
 tween the leaves of the branches that reached 
 above the pathway he liked best. 
 
 In a few minutes he was in a taxi hurrying to it. 
 
 "She will come through," he said as he breathed 
 in the stillness, "she is on her way, though at 
 present she finds the strange crew amusing." 
 He had no doubt; for did he not remember the 
 long twilights of the past weeks, of the soft June 
 evenings? They had met without any precon- 
 certed signal at the gate of the little enclosure that 
 was marked off to the Fiffer house, or sat on a 
 trimly painted seat near by. All the good green 
 space was deserted at that hour, as Lant had fore- 
 told it would be. The fashionable people of the 
 houses round, tired out with their dissipations, 
 were resting or making ready for the amusements 
 
 67
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 of the night, and the shadows had half hidden 
 their dwellings. Those little intervals snatched 
 from the restless world near them had seemed al- 
 most an enchantment to Wendern. The stillness, 
 the softness, the finding a sanctuary there in the 
 heart of London was so strange, and the sky of 
 deepening grey, the little wandering wind, warm 
 and caressing it had been, had served for a setting 
 to his dreams. He had seen her eyes; shy and 
 questioning and tender, yet with something in 
 them that petitioned him not to speak too soon, 
 not to break the spell of those wonderful moments 
 that followed the good days they were living, 
 moments that seemed to be as none other in the 
 world had been, and to linger between the greyness 
 and the dark as if time were loth to end them. 
 Once he had held her hand longer than usual when 
 they parted. "Good-night, George Wendern,'* 
 she had said the first time she had called him so 
 and she lingered a moment as if to hear again 
 his whispered "Katherine" before she abruptly 
 turned away. 
 
 68
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 WENDERN'S private room at the office of 
 the Bangor Estates Syndicate in Great 
 St. Helen's, James Dawson there alone, busy sort- 
 ing letters. There was one with the Naples post- 
 mark. "From Mr. Christopher Lant; we shall 
 hear something about this old Syndicate at last," 
 he said to himself, and his spirits rose. He was a 
 spare man of nearly forty, with a worried expres- 
 sion, devoted to Wendern, but sceptical as to the 
 Australian manager, though it was Lant who had 
 known him first and suggested that the Syndicate 
 would be an excellent home for a saved-up 200. 
 Concerning his modest speculation he had no 
 anxiety; for, with Wendern as English manager, 
 he felt convinced that whatever happened his 
 money would be safe. But there was one share- 
 holder who was sorely on his mind. "Something 
 will have to be done about father-in-law Tees- 
 dale," he said to himself, "or life won't be worth 
 living. If I'd known what he was like before I 
 married Polly, I'd have thought twice about it." 
 He looked up at the map of the Bangor territory 
 
 69
 
 George Wendern 
 
 hanging over the fireplace. A railway, designed 
 to run down to the coast, was marked out; but 
 nothing had been heard of it lately. 
 
 He turned his head with a jerk and listened; 
 some one was coming upstairs. Without knock 
 or hesitation the door was opened and a heavy ill- 
 tempered-looking man of fifty entered. 
 
 "Yes, sir?" Dawson had assumed a brisk 
 business-like air. 
 
 "Who [are you?" the newcomer asked in a 
 bullying tone. 
 
 "Mr. Wendern's chief clerk, sir." 
 
 "And where is he? And what about this pre- 
 cious Syndicate?" 
 
 "About it?" 
 
 "Is it a swindle?" 
 
 "Swindle? Really, sir " Dawson was over- 
 come with astonishment. 
 
 "Perhaps you'll answer my question." 
 
 "Mr. Wendern is not here; but you may rest 
 assured " 
 
 "I may rest assured, I suppose, that I've lost 
 my five hundred? I mean to see him before I 
 leave." He sat down and the chair creaked. 
 "It isn't the money I mind, but I've never made a 
 mistake in my life, and I'm not going to begin." 
 
 "My father-in-law has put in the same 
 amount "
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "What's that to me?" 
 
 "Well, I shouldn't have let him do it if I didn't 
 believe in the Syndicate myself, sir. It's all he 
 has in the world." 
 
 "Probably he'll lose it, and serve him right. 
 Fools and their money are soon parted, it knows 
 better than to stay with them; nothing like money 
 for keeping prudent company in the long run. " 
 
 "But he'll be ruined if he loses it." 
 
 "He oughtn't to have risked it." 
 
 "You risked yours, sir." 
 
 "Because I've plenty to get it back with if 
 necessary. A man who has only 500 ought to 
 put it into a Building Society, and take care that 
 it's a good one before he does, or a Savings Bank, 
 while he sets to and earns more to go with it. 
 Perhaps you are in this deal yourself?" 
 
 "I've invested my own money in it, of course," 
 Dawson was severe but imperturbable. "I think 
 I hear the chiefs step here he is, sir; he will 
 answer your inquiries himself. " 
 
 Wendern, leisurely as ever, entered. He looked 
 at the visitor with interest but without surprise. 
 
 "Good morning, Dawson," he said, then turned 
 to the big man, who had risen. "Mr. ?" 
 
 " Digby, that's my name, I came to talk to you 
 about this Syndicate." 
 
 "I shall be delighted to talk to you, my dear 
 71
 
 George Wendern 
 
 sir, but this is my private office, to which I have 
 not invited you, so I must ask you to wait while 
 I open my letters. Will you try these?" he held 
 out his cigarette case. 
 
 "No, thank you," Digby grunted a different 
 sort of grunt from Parker's and made his im- 
 patience evident. 
 
 Wendern turned to the letters, read two or three, 
 and threw them on one side. There was a cable, 
 he had not noticed it at first, he tore it open 
 quickly, "The Derryford Dock case comes on 
 next Monday," he said to Dawson, "and is ex- 
 pected to last several days. " 
 
 "Is that anything to do with us?" the visitor 
 asked. 
 
 "Nothing at all to do with you, but it is highly 
 important to me. " 
 
 Digby's temper was giving out. "I want to 
 talk to you about this Syndicate, and my time's 
 as precious as yours," he said. "I'm not satis- 
 fied with what I've heard; and a good many aren't; 
 we get reports that we look upon as bluff do you 
 hear, sir bluff?" 
 
 "Most certainly I hear," Wendern was still 
 unruffled; he pulled another letter from its en- 
 velope; it was type-written, and had several 
 signatures. " Perhaps this will interest you, Mr. 
 Mr. Digby?" He read aloud 
 
 72
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 DEAR SIR, We, the undersigned, not being satisfied with 
 our position on the Bangor Estates Syndicate, nor with the 
 rumours concerning its prospects which are circulated in the 
 City, propose calling upon you at your office next Wednesday 
 morning, the 1 5th inst., at 11.30. 
 
 JOHN F. WELCH. 
 
 WILLIAM SHAW. 
 
 THOMAS HACKETT. 
 
 ROBERT BENNETT. 
 
 ISAAC LAZURUS. 
 
 WILLIAM DOBSON. 
 
 CYRIL GRAHAM (Rev.). 
 
 "Six men and a parson I wonder who put the 
 parson into it." 
 
 "I knew this was coming. They think about 
 it as I do," Digby blustered. 
 
 "Well, suppose you join them on Wednesday 
 morning, the I5th, at 11.30, my dear sir, one- 
 two " he counted the names again, "seven, that 
 would make eight? Perhaps Mr. Lant may be 
 here by then. " 
 
 "I think there's a letter from him this morning, 
 sir." Dawson held out the one with the Naples 
 postmark; it had been passed over. 
 
 "Ah," Wendern said as he read it, "he is at 
 Naples, and will be here in a few days in time 
 for the deputation, probably, on the I5th. Until 
 then, you might think over the questions you wish 
 to ask? I'm sure you will understand that I pre- 
 fer to see you all at the same time." He held 
 open the door. 
 
 73
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Digby was evidently at a loss what to do. 
 "Very well," he muttered, after a moment's 
 consideration, "matters will have to come to 
 a head then as you will see, both of you. " He 
 lumbered downstairs. 
 
 Wendern went back to his letters. Presently 
 he pushed a heap of them towards Dawson. "I 
 want you to answer these, the same thing to them 
 all: 'Mr. Lant is expected in London immediately, 
 when a meeting will be held and the position ex- 
 plained to the shareholders.' Luckily, they're 
 not all included in the deputation." 
 
 "Yes, sir. " Dawson hesitated; evidently some- 
 thing was perplexing him. 
 
 Wendern saw it, and asked, "What is it?" 
 
 "There's my father-in-law, Mr. Teesdale, sir; 
 he put five hundred pounds into the Syndi- 
 cate " 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "He's obliged to pay something up, and the 
 fact is he wants to take it out. " 
 
 "He must wait till Mr. Lant comes. I daresay 
 he will let him withdraw it. " 
 
 Dawson hesitated; he was respectful but al- 
 most vehement when he spoke. "Couldn't you 
 let him have it, sir? It isn't much to you, but 
 it's everything in the world to him. If you would 
 let him have it, why, it would be a kindness I 
 
 74
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 should never forget. It isn't that I don't believe 
 in the Syndicate myself my own money is in it, 
 as you know, but he gets into such a state of 
 mind. He was off his head once for a little while, 
 and this five hundred pounds is upsetting all the 
 peace of my home. My wife is his daughter; 
 naturally he goes on at her, and the fact is I daren't 
 go back this afternoon, sir, unless I can tell him 
 it's safe. " 
 
 "Safe! You shall have it; give me the cheque- 
 book. After all, a bank is only an abstraction, 
 but an old man and a father-in-law is different." 
 A boy entered. "Mr. Joe Parker's here, sir." 
 "Ask him to wait five minutes while I write a 
 note. " He sat down and wrote to the bank man- 
 ager 
 
 I shall be greatly obliged if you will honour another 
 cheque. I have drawn one for 500 in favour of Mr. James 
 Dawson. The lawsuit, in which I have a large sum of money 
 involved, will be decided next week, and I may mention that 
 Mr. Christopher Lant will be in London immediately with 
 a full account of the Bangor Estates Syndicate. 
 
 "Send this round at once," he said to Dawson, 
 "and show Mr. Parker up in three minutes." 
 
 "Yes, sir. I can never thank you enough; you 
 have taken a load of worry off my mind. " 
 
 Wendern nodded for answer; he had no words 
 at his command. Before Parker came up he 
 wanted to think, to be alone, to face things. 
 
 75
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Money! He had never understood the meaning 
 of it before the power of it, the misery, the pleas- 
 ure it had in its gift. And still he had only a glim- 
 mering of it, for he looked upon the Syndicate 
 worry as just a queer and temporary development 
 of things, a diversion of time and the devil's, de- 
 signed to harry him and produce a depression he 
 was a fool not to shake off for it was bound to 
 come right, and he would be all the better for see- 
 ing Joe Parker. He touched the bell by his side; 
 a dead weight seemed to be laid upon him, even 
 to reach out his hand was an effort. 
 
 Parker strode in, strong and sinewy, brusque 
 and kindly. A vision of blue sky and wide spaces 
 went swiftly through Wendern's brain, as it had 
 done through Mrs. Fiffer's at the Claridge dinner 
 a few months ago. " God made them, " he thought, 
 "but He gave the devil some plots, and he built 
 on them." 
 
 "Why, George, what's up, you seem a bit 
 anxious?" 
 
 "It's nothing." 
 
 The backwoodsman looked at him sharply. 
 "Well, if you've got five minutes, I'd like to sit 
 down. " 
 
 "Do, but wait while I write out a telegram; 
 I must send one to Lant. " 
 
 "I should tell him to hurry here if I were you." 
 76
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 Wendern reached down a yellow form from a 
 hook by the table. "I'm doing so; he's still in 
 Naples." 
 
 "He'd be better in London." 
 
 "He'll be here next week, and there'll be a 
 meeting of this confounded Syndicate. Mean- 
 while a deputation of the shareholders is to worry 
 me on Wednesday. I hope he'll come for it; 
 that's why I'm sending him a wire. " 
 
 He wrote it out and a couple of letters, while his 
 friend looked awkwardly through 'The Times,' 
 as if it were a strange paper in which he did not 
 know his way about. 
 
 "Now then, Joe?" when the letters and tele- 
 gram had been despatched. 
 
 "I came to see you about two things, George. 
 Partly about this Syndicate, partly on my own 
 account. " 
 
 "Good. Tell me your own part first?" 
 
 "Well," Parker smoothed down the knees of 
 his trousers, "there's Mrs. Berwick." 
 
 Wendern looked up amused. "Yes, there's 
 Mrs. Berwick. You saw her, for the third time, 
 I believe, yesterday. " 
 
 "We well, the fact is, we had a talk among 
 those orange-trees the other day, and the result 
 was a little dinner together last night at the 
 Carlton." 
 
 77
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Did you? I was strolling over Wimbledon 
 Common, looking at the sky. How did you man- 
 age to find your way to the Carlton?" 
 
 "She put me on to it she's 'cute," Parker 
 added approvingly, "seems to know everything." 
 "Oh yes, she's 'cute. How did you get on?" 
 "First-rate. She's a nice woman. Do you 
 know much about her?" 
 "No, but I agree she's a nice woman." 
 "Know anything about her people?" 
 "Nothing. Not my business. " 
 "I wonder what sort of age she is?" 
 "I never speculate about a woman's age. She 
 looks well, thirty-four, except when she's made 
 up, then she looks forty but what does it matter, 
 if you like her? It's her future that concerns you, 
 not her past." There was a pause. Then, try- 
 ing to keep amusement out of his voice, he asked, 
 "Are you thinking of matrimony, Joe?" 
 
 Joe shook his head in a doubtful manner, evi- 
 dently he had not quite made up his mind. "Well, 
 I don't know. She's clever and knows what she 
 wants; one might do worse than take her farther, 
 though I'm not sure that I've got enough to take 
 her very far. I should think she'd expect her full 
 fare paid." 
 
 "You may lay your bottom dollar on that. 
 But she isn't a bad sort." 
 
 78
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "The thing is that I've never hung on to a 
 woman yet. " 
 
 "Then begin. Women are bankers of most of 
 the virtues, and when we are good for anything 
 it's generally because, without knowing it, we've 
 drawn upon them. This sounds rather like senti- 
 ment from cheap melodrama," Wendern said, 
 wrinkling his forehead, " but it's true all the same. " 
 
 "Well, what I've always heard about a woman 
 is, that you may care for her, give her things, do 
 anything you like with her, except trust her. 
 That's awkward." 
 
 "Don't believe it, Joe, doubting the thing you 
 love isn't good enough. What else did you want 
 to tell me?" 
 
 Parker answered reluctantly. "There's this 
 Syndicate. They say rather queer things about 
 it in the City. " 
 
 "What do they say?" 
 
 "Why, that Lant came over to negotiate it, 
 and said Bangor's price was fifty thousand " 
 
 "That's right. Lant found it himself." 
 
 " But that Bangor was a figurehead; Lant 
 got the estates for nothing, and they're worth 
 nothing. What did you put in?" 
 
 "Twenty thousand. The other members of 
 the Syndicate found 50,000 which, except for 
 enough held back for office expenses here, was sent 
 
 79
 
 George Wendern 
 
 out there " he stopped, then went on uneasily, 
 "I don't believe these stories; the thing is sound 
 enough. Lant has his head screwed on the right 
 way, and he's all right at bottom. " 
 
 "You've a good opinion of human nature, al- 
 ways had." 
 
 "Human nature is all right; it may get a little 
 smudged with the blacks of a city, or misshapen 
 with the knocks of the world, but it comes out 
 all right in the end if you know how to treat it. 
 That's another sentence fit for melodrama, Joe, 
 if you have any friend in that way of business. " 
 
 "Well, you may say what you like, but you're 
 feeling a bit uncomfortable. " 
 
 " It's only the worst side of me trying to give a 
 whisper to the other." 
 
 Joe considered a moment. 
 
 "What time is that deputation coming on 
 Wednesday?" 
 
 "Half-past eleven." 
 
 "I'll make it my business to look in an hour later 
 and hear how it's gone off. " Parker got up to go. 
 
 A letter was brought in. Wendern opened it 
 absently while he answered "Do" he looked up 
 with an almost startled expression on his face. 
 
 "Hullo, anything the matter?" 
 
 "Yes, this is rather a worry," he read the letter 
 again. "Dawson's father-in-law put five hundred 
 
 80
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 pounds into the Syndicate; all he had, apparently. 
 Lant's accounts were so highly coloured in the 
 beginning that people would have put their souls 
 in it if they'd had the chance. The father-in- 
 law has got into a funk lately, and made the fuss 
 relations usually do if you have a finger in their 
 dealings so I am told, I never had any myself. 
 It ended just now in my giving a cheque for the 
 five hundred pounds. I sent a note to the bank 
 asking them to honour it, but the scoundrels re- 
 fuse; there's a pretty overdraft there, of course. 
 What the deuce am I to do if it comes back dis- 
 honoured? I hope Dawson hasn't sent it in, I 
 made it payable to him." He pushed the button 
 of the electric bell. "Where is Mr. Dawson?" 
 he asked the boy who answered it. 
 
 " Downstairs, sir. " 
 
 Wendern gave a sigh of relief. 
 
 "I want him." 
 
 "He needn't come yet," Parker put in, "tell 
 him five minutes' time. " He turned to Wendern 
 when the boy had gone, "I can manage it, George." 
 
 "You?" 
 
 "Five hundred won't break me, and will tide 
 you over the difficulty. Where do you bank ? I'll 
 go and pay it in at once." 
 
 "No, old man, that won't do. Suppose things 
 go wrong with the Dock case, it will break me ab- 
 
 81
 
 George Wendern 
 
 solutely for a time at any rate. It's no good 
 pretending it wouldn't. I've played the fool 
 completely. " 
 
 "I don't think it's possible it can go against 
 you, from what I hear; but even if it does, five 
 hundred pounds won't break me. I'll go at once. " 
 He got up, then hesitated. "What about Miss 
 Fiffer?" 
 
 Wendern wrinkled his forehead again. "She 
 is at Brighton and I haven't spoken to her yet. " 
 "Well, you'd better and make things right." 
 "With my face against these complications?" 
 "You said the other day that money didn't 
 matter. " 
 
 "It doesn't if she cares. I don't want her 
 dollars I am getting afraid of money, Joe. I 
 should like to take her away to the other end of 
 the world with all we own on our backs. " 
 "Don't think that would please her." 
 "No, it wouldn't and this is only a temporary 
 hole." Wendern's tone changed, he shook his 
 head and was himself again. "Lant will be here 
 to see the deputation through, and the Syndicate's 
 all right, I expect. When the Dock case is settled 
 there will be 200,000 let loose; and there's plenty 
 more scattered about in various directions. I 
 must gather up the loose ends, that's all. " 
 
 "Well, don't make yourself uneasy meanwhile, 
 82
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 I've a little loose cash, if it's any use to you. By 
 the way, you'd better telephone to that bank and 
 say I'm coming." 
 
 "I will." 
 
 Parker waited till the message had gone through 
 before he spoke again, "You'll be mum about Mrs. 
 Berwick," he said sheepishly; "don't let her know 
 I've said anything?" 
 
 A laugh looked out of Wendern's eyes as he 
 answered 
 
 "Wild tigers would not get a word from me." 
 
 He rang for Dawson when Parker had gone, 
 "I shall not be here again to-day," he said, "I am 
 going but I want an analysis of the shareholders 
 made." 
 
 "Yes, sir," Dawson answered from mere habit, 
 "but I don't quite understand." 
 
 "I want to know who and what they are and 
 whether they can afford to speculate. " 
 
 "Very difficult to tell that, sir, from a list. 
 There are some lords on it, I should think they were 
 all right, three or four parsons and a lot of widows." 
 
 "Parsons and widows oughtn't to be allowed 
 the control of their money, they always make fools 
 of themselves. " 
 
 "I hope not, sir, in this instance. And there's 
 my little bit, though I don't like mentioning it?" 
 
 Wendern gave him a reassuring nod. "I'll take 
 
 83
 
 George Wendern 
 
 care of that, Dawson, come what will. You've 
 got your father-in-law off your mind. " 
 
 "Oh yes, I have. You can't think what your 
 wife's relations are, sir, if you have to do with their 
 money. " 
 
 Outside Wendern took a taxi. "Open it," he 
 said. "Now drive to Richmond Park." 
 
 The man looked at him doubtfully. "Seems 
 all right," he thought, "don't want any one from 
 an asylum, or a bloke blowing his brains out inside 
 my cab, I can tell him. " 
 
 Lying face downwards on the grass in one of the 
 forgotten by-ways Wendern felt as if he could see 
 through the earth, deeper and deeper, to the other 
 side of the world, to the great solitudes and the high 
 mountains, the wastes of water and the wide 
 prairies that he loved. " If I were only away from 
 all this accursed nonsense," he told himself, 
 "this meddling with money, this worshipping of 
 it, she and I in the world alone if she would go, " 
 he added with a touch of cynicism. "Money 
 money," he shuddered as he thought of it, "it's 
 the great test perhaps; there's some solution of its 
 mystery, some quenching of its power, some anti- 
 dote for the curse it is, its possession or its loss, 
 hidden somewhere, and not dreamt of yet in the 
 cities perhaps, if men could only find it. But it 
 is not socialism, nor any sort of robbery disguised 
 
 84
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 as legislation there's an easier, simpler one 
 waiting. Meanwhile it must be treated according 
 to the rules, I suppose, and the rules have been 
 made by men, honest or dishonest, as if they were 
 at the mercy of a toss-up. "
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 days later Mrs. Fiffer wrote to Wen- 
 JL dern from Brighton announcing that they 
 had left the hotel. Their friends, the Lough- 
 Johnsons, had taken a house at the far end, fac- 
 ing the sea at Hove. 
 
 "We want you to come down right away and 
 see us," she said, "I told you about Mrs. Lough- 
 Johnson. She is a real nice woman and most 
 anxious to make your acquaintance. I'll get back 
 to town this next Monday morning, though Kath- 
 erine will stay on, and I'd like you to come before 
 I go; not this week-end, for we are full up, but if 
 you could motor over to-morrow early or next day 
 it would fit in very well. And as there's a full 
 moon and the road couldn't be better, it won't 
 matter if you're late going home, for we hope 
 you'll stay to dinner, and Katherine says I'm to 
 tell you she wants you to take us to Rottingdean; 
 she hasn't been yet, because she's waiting for you." 
 
 The last words decided him, he whizzed there 
 the next afternoon, to find himself in a house 
 crowded with furniture and full of strange people; 
 the Lough-Johnsons apparently had a habit of 
 collecting them. 
 
 86
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 "I'm real glad to see you," Mrs. Fiffer said, 
 "I've got to go to Rottingdean whether I like it 
 or not, but I want to do it in your motor, for Albert 
 Lough- Johnson he's that young man by the tall 
 girl in grey, he married her last fall, and this is part 
 of their honeymoon has a fancy to drive their 
 car himself; and what he likes is a road at the edge 
 of a cliff and a speed that is something between 
 a flash of lightning and a whirlwind. I couldn't 
 help thinking yesterday that at any moment we 
 might go over, and though no doubt the bottom 
 of the ocean is interesting, we wouldn't be in a 
 condition when we arrived there to see what it 
 was like." 
 
 At first his visit was a disappointment. Kather- 
 ine seemed to be interested in the rest of the party 
 and to group him in with it, but that was all. 
 The afternoon light was glaring, they waited for 
 it to soften, tea was brought in and prolonged. 
 A woman she was forty-five, straight-haired and 
 muscular, who came to call, stayed for it. The 
 Lough-Johnsons had apparently picked her up 
 at the hotel, and were rather bored now at her ad- 
 vances. She had been round the world, and in- 
 sisted on cackling about it, chiefly to Wendern; 
 perhaps she had heard he was rich, or knew that 
 the FifFers were, or it seemed a good opportunity 
 to show her originality. She displayed it by ask- 
 
 87
 
 George Wendern 
 
 ing, with a patronising air, questions concerned 
 with the luxury of travel, and announcing that 
 she herself always booked as a steerage passenger. 
 
 "Now I expect Miss Fiffer would sooner die," 
 she said, "yet I did it from choice. It is a great 
 deal to be hardy, and one degenerates with too 
 many luxuries. " 
 
 "They make life agreeable," Katherine an- 
 swered. "But it isn't doing without them that 
 I should mind " 
 
 "Think you would, Katherine," put in Mrs. 
 Fiffer. 
 
 "In the steerage, yes, mother; because people 
 of the sort who go by it often seem to care so little 
 for the things that cost nothing. I could be happy 
 without the luxuries, without anything almost, on 
 a wide plain or in a dense forest a thousand miles 
 away. " 
 
 "Well, I don't know, but I think you wouldn't. " 
 Mrs. Fiffer shook her head doubtfully, while 
 Wendern, feeling as if Katherine had held out a 
 hand to him, looked towards the window : on the 
 far horizon, faintly, mistily, he imagined a ship. 
 
 At last, in the early summer evening, an expedi- 
 tion was made up and they started two motor 
 loads. Mrs. Fiffer, in an enormous black hat fast- 
 ened on with a blue veil, her body shapeless in a 
 wrap; Katherine, grave and slim, in a long white 
 
 88
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 coat, a yachting cap, and a white gauze scarf tied 
 under her chin; Wendern and his chauffeur. 
 These four were in the second car, the first was 
 filled by the Lough- Johnson party. 
 
 Wendern was impatient at thewhole programme. 
 He had imagined himself and Katherine flying 
 along the King's Road alone, and far away from 
 it; Mrs. Fiffer was a worthy person, but he felt 
 her presence to be an intrusion, and the Lough- 
 Johnson car, though it was well ahead, an imperti- 
 nence. It was not till they had left Brighton and 
 Kemp Town behind and were skimming over the 
 Sussex Downs, with the sea on their right and great 
 stretches of blue sky overhead, that he managed to 
 pull himself together. 
 
 She leant towards him then. "Isn't it good to 
 be alive when there's a sea like that beside one?" 
 she asked dreamily, as if in her thoughts she trav- 
 ersed it. 
 
 "It's always good," he answered. 
 
 She nodded agreement and quoted, to herself it 
 seemed rather than to him, the famous bit from 
 'Lavengro,' "'There's night and day, brother, 
 both sweet things. Sun and moon and stars. . . . 
 There's likewise the wind on the heath. Life is 
 very sweet, who would wish to die ? " 
 
 He noticed that she left out the repetition of the 
 word "brother." What molehills are mountains 
 to lovers; he felt that the omission counted one 
 
 89
 
 George Wendern 
 
 to him a mountain with the sunshine on it. 
 "Would it be sweet under any conditions?" he 
 asked, thinking of the travel-woman's talk just 
 before they started. 
 
 And again she nodded. "Under any," and 
 she quoted, "'there's the wind on the heath 
 brother." He turned away. 
 
 They came to the dip, Rottingdean was in 
 sight; they whirled round the white house at the 
 corner and slowed down into the village, that 
 seemed to be hushing itself to sleep already, be- 
 fore the sun had done its setting. 
 
 "Rottingdean!" he heard Katherine whisper to 
 herself. 
 
 They looked up at the outsides of the houses in 
 which its great men had lived, the green they had 
 so often crossed, the graves in which some of them 
 lay sleeping, the church with the little old box, 
 that the Romans had made, against the wall, and 
 at the beautiful Burne-Jones windows. 
 
 "The men who have made this place famous 
 were poor once," Katherine said. "Wasn't it 
 lovely for them to be born in the work-world with 
 health and capacity ? All the chances were with 
 them at the outset, and they took them. " 
 
 "But that's what your father did too, Kather- 
 ine," Mrs. Fiffer said. "He made all he left; it 
 was lucky for you he did. " 
 
 "Why, yes, mother, he was splendid." She 
 90
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 added, in a whisper again, " But we wear our rue 
 with a difference." 
 
 "That's another quotation," Mrs. Fiffer ex- 
 plained to Wendern with pride and an apologetic 
 air. "Katherine's always making them. I can't 
 think how she remembers, but I don't know that 
 they're any good. I think one ought to be able 
 to say what one means without them. There are 
 just as many words as there always were to go on 
 with." 
 
 They were looking back at the church, and 
 hardly heard her. Katherine's face was almost 
 sad as she touched her mother's hand, she was al- 
 ways tender to her. "Let us go," she said. A 
 hush seemed to have fallen upon them as they 
 set their faces homewards, perhaps because they 
 knew a little more, than when they had started, 
 that was worth remembering. 
 
 The other motor, the one with the Lough- John- 
 sons, was already on its way. 
 
 Along the white road and over the undulating 
 downs towards Brighton, Wendern was inwardly 
 fuming. There was only dinner to come. It 
 would be more or less of a party. Soon afterwards 
 he would have to begin his journey back in the car. 
 The visit was a failure. "But I'm beginning to 
 realise," he thought, "that life's a failure as far as 
 I am concerned. The right things seem to range 
 
 91
 
 George Wendern 
 
 themselves round me, but I don't know how to 
 deal with them. The whole world was before me, 
 and I didn't choose the right place to live in; I 
 had money, and didn't know the right way to use 
 it; the woman I love seems to be eluding me. 
 Probably I'm a fool, and it serves me right." 
 
 They had reached the high white road of Kemp 
 Town. The soft grey veils of twilight were drop- 
 ping over land and sea. Katherine seemed lost 
 in a dream. He leant towards her. " Does it ever 
 strike you that the men who build cities are crim- 
 inals, and the people who live in them are maniacs 
 or fools ?" he asked. "The savages and the beasts 
 in the jungle know better." 
 
 "Well, you know, Mr. Wendern, they must be 
 very uncomfortable. I don't think a jungle would 
 suit any of us, " Mrs. Fiffer answered. "I'd rather 
 be as we are." 
 
 "Mother," Katherine said with a start, "you 
 ought to go in quickly and rest before dinner. 
 But I should like to get out and walk. It isn't 
 too far?" she looked at Wendern. 
 
 "No." His heart bounded as he spoke to the 
 chauffeur. 
 
 In a minute they were alone; the motor scur- 
 ried on; it was a speck in the distance before they 
 spoke. Then they stopped, and leaning over the 
 wall on their left, looked down at the sea and far 
 
 92
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 away to the haze and the ships passing between. 
 "I was afraid we weren't going to get any time at 
 all together," he said. "Those friends of yours 
 are excellent people, but they have a way that 
 makes one feel like part of a chorus. " 
 
 "And we have hardly met since the other morn- 
 ing," she answered. "You went away from Ken- 
 ton House so early. " 
 
 " I thought you were trying to avoid me. " 
 
 "Why should I do that?" 
 
 "Anyway, you talked to Lord Ken ton most of 
 the time I was there. I didn't quite see where 
 that aged gentleman's merit came in." 
 
 "He is Lord Derbyshire's cousin, and I was 
 observing him. " 
 
 "It wasn't the first time you'd seen him?" 
 
 "No, but I hadn't thought about him before. 
 He gave that dinner at Claridge's, where we first 
 met; but I don't believe I even looked at him then. 
 That's why I wanted to talk to him. It was so 
 interesting seeing him in his own house. We don't 
 have marquises in our country. " 
 
 " Personally, I have never wanted them. " 
 
 "Well, I'd like to know about this one, any- 
 way. " 
 
 "There isn't much to know. I heard yesterday 
 that he was going to marry again because his only 
 son refuses to marry at all prefers motor racing 
 to matrimony." 
 
 93
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "He's very rich, isn't he?" 
 
 "He has a hundred thousand a-year, and never 
 did a day's work in his life or spent his money with 
 any intelligence that has been noticed." 
 
 "But don't you think the aristocracy ought to 
 be rich? It's such a fine institution." 
 
 "I hadn't thought about it from that point of 
 view, though I gathered the other day that you 
 had. I don't quite see how you get at the fine- 
 ness." 
 
 "Why, it means men with deep roots in the 
 ground, right down through hundreds of years. " 
 
 "It did at one time. They're pulling them up 
 now and throwing them on the rubbish-heap." 
 
 " If they had an aristocracy a real one, I mean 
 in America, not the new sort they are making 
 over here, they'd be very proud of it. " 
 
 "They'll get it in time; they are longing for it. 
 In the long run, though a man may not get his 
 desire a people does; it's the great adjustment for 
 individual disappointments. " 
 
 "I don't think I understand?" 
 
 "It doesn't matter. Let's talk of ourselves, a 
 man and woman generally arrive at that when 
 they're together. I'm glad you were only study- 
 ing Kenton as a curiosity and not to avoid me." 
 
 "I never avoid a friend." 
 
 "I don't want you to call me that." 
 
 "Is it too much?" 
 
 94
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "It's not enough; friendship is generally as 
 fatal to what I want as twilight to a rainbow. " 
 
 "Perhaps you want the impossible," she said, 
 half in fear it sounded. "We all do. Ibsen knew 
 that, and showed us what came of it, don't you 
 remember?" 
 
 "I want " his voice was husky. 
 
 "Don't tell me," she interrupted, while a little 
 of the aloofness that had been in her manner lately 
 was perceptible. Then, half-unconsciously, she 
 put out her hand. 
 
 He took it, and for a moment she did not draw it 
 away. "You know what I want to say," he went 
 on, "but for some inscrutable reason of your own 
 you won't let me speak." 
 
 "I am thinking so much." 
 
 He lifted his cap and the soft winds from the 
 sea swept over his head. She looked up at him, 
 and a smile came to her lips. He could see it 
 plainly; there was a little spice of tender mischief 
 in it the smile of a woman who was with the man 
 she loved. 
 
 "Do you know what's happening to you, George 
 Wendern?" she asked. 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "You are getting grey." 
 
 "Do you mind it?" 
 
 "I like it." 
 
 "Like it?" 
 
 95
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Why, yes grey hair and wrinkles, when 
 they're not on an old man, say so much." 
 
 "What do they say?" 
 
 "That you've lived you've felt and you've 
 used the world. I love to see it," the last words 
 were said in a whisper, almost down into the wall 
 over which she bent; but he heard them, and made 
 a little movement as if his arm were going round 
 her. She drew back quickly, her manner changed, 
 a low laugh, half-weary, half-frightened, came from 
 her. 
 
 "Let us talk about the dance you are going to 
 give; your drawing-room will be just lovely for 
 it." She was making time; but it was not for 
 him to see it. 
 
 "Why don't you and your mother give one?" 
 
 "We shouldn't do it well two women never do 
 things well." 
 
 "Neither do two men it takes a man and a 
 woman; to them all things are possible. Do you 
 understand?" he drew a little closer. 
 
 "Why, yes. But I don't want to understand 
 anything to-day, only just to take in what a good 
 place this world is when you've not lived in it too 
 long, or allowed yourself to feel too much " 
 
 "Too much?" 
 
 "It's a mistake to let yourself do that, Mr. 
 Wendern. Don't you think so?" 
 
 He chafed at the "Mr. Wendern." His voice 
 96
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 was impatient as he answered, "Usually it means 
 being blindfolded and running a race to heaven 
 or hell you don't know which till you arrive, for 
 your ticket has been taken by the other person 
 concerned ' he stopped, but she made no sign, 
 "you have taken mine, you know it." 
 
 "I don't know, I won't let myself know any- 
 thing to-day. " She looked out towards the misty 
 distance again as if she were trying to question 
 it, to divine what lay behind. 
 
 "My dear," he could hardly hold back the other 
 words that rushed to his lips, "you are troubled?" 
 
 "Oh no, not troubled, only wondering " she 
 stopped as if afraid of saying too much. 
 
 "Only wondering? I know. Katherine, my 
 dear, let me speak." 
 
 "You must wait," she answered desperately, "I 
 don't want you to to say things. You mustn't. 
 I feel as if the Fates or the Immensities, or what- 
 ever people who talk that way call them, have 
 taken hold of me. I must find out what they mean 
 to do." 
 
 "You are talking nonsense, but I love you " 
 he held her to him, she seemed unable to resist. 
 The darkness gathered closer, it wrapped them, 
 the road was deserted, there was hardly a sound 
 save for the sea whispering up to them. 
 
 " Oh, you mustn't say it " His face was against 
 97
 
 George Wendern 
 
 hers but she averted her lips, then suddenly for 
 a moment, a long wonderful moment, she gave 
 them to him and drew back half shuddering. 
 
 He was triumphant now, he felt certain of her, 
 "Why not?" he asked. 
 
 "You mustn't, till I've thought it all out, till 
 I know myself that is what I want to do," she 
 said passionately, but with a strange determina- 
 tion. "I must think it all out alone. The great 
 things of life have to be thought out alone, quite 
 alone," her voice trembled, her hands went to her 
 eyes as if to force back the tears; but the next 
 moment she looked at him with the light shining 
 in them. The determination was still in her voice, 
 but she seemed to be forcing it. "Mother's go- 
 ing back to London before I do. When I come 
 I shall know myself. But listen, whatever way 
 it is, I want you to believe that I've tried to look 
 at things right; 1 in the big way, not just the 
 selfish way." 
 
 "Beloved, what are you thinking, what is in 
 your heart can't you tell me?" he tried to hold 
 her again, but she held him back. 
 
 "It's so difficult," she answered, "I expect 
 Americans often get hardly judged, anyway they 
 get misunderstood. English people can't even 
 guess what their country is to them, the raising 
 of ideals, the helping to give it new forms of life, 
 
 98
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 the longing to get for it what other countries prize 
 most." 
 
 "What has all this to do with us?" 
 
 "You'll see you'll understand when we talk 
 it all out together. " 
 
 "Let us do it now." 
 
 "No. It can't be done, George" she said 
 his name softly, it was like a caress. "I've got 
 to think first, you must give me time for that. 
 You'll know when you see me again. Life will 
 be marked out for us both then." 
 
 "Life together," he said, "it must be that if 
 it's to be any good to me. " 
 
 "It isn't only good to oneself of which we must 
 think, there are others one has to do for," she 
 lifted her head and shook it as if to change the 
 subject, "Let us talk of the dance." 
 
 "Dance," he said impatiently, "you might as 
 well ask a king to play at feather-blowing on the 
 day he first enters into his kingdom or is going 
 out of it." 
 
 "Well, anyway," she answered with a change of 
 tone, "it's time we went back. They will be 
 wondering what we are doing. Let us go. " They 
 turned away and walked towards Brighton in 
 silence; she seemed to be lost in thought, almost 
 to forget him. 
 
 "When do you come back?" he asked. 
 99
 
 George Wendern 
 
 She gave a little start. "Next week. I think 
 on Wednesday " 
 
 It was the day of the deputation ; but that would 
 be over in the morning, he reflected. "It's nearly 
 a week off, may I come down again?" 
 
 "No." She held out her hand for a moment. 
 "Don't come," she almost entreated, "I must be 
 alone, or away from you, at any rate for this one 
 week then I shall know what I can do or must 
 do." 
 
 He looked at her puzzled. "Must do?" 
 
 "Must do," she repeated with a catch in her 
 breath. "Say you won't come, you won't do 
 anything. " 
 
 He gave a little nod in acquiescence. "But 
 I could motor down when you are ready and fetch 
 you?" 
 
 She considered a minute. "You shall have a 
 message, but you mustn't come unless I tell you. " 
 She went a step forward, then with a sudden change 
 of mood looked back over her shoulder and laughed 
 a little. "We must hurry," she said, "or we shall 
 be late for dinner, and the Lough- Johnsons will 
 look hungry. They do, you should just see them. " 
 
 They went on to the balcony for a minute 
 before he left, and looked down at the motor snort- 
 ing by the curb. 
 
 100
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "George Wendern," she said, "all dinner time 
 you seemed to be thinking very hard what was 
 it about?" 
 
 His voice was low and very tender; she sighed 
 as if she thrilled to it; "I heard you say again *a 
 thousand miles away' would you go?" 
 
 She waited a moment before she answered, "I 
 only said it because I didn't like that woman. I 
 love this England and all its traditions. " 
 
 "Traditions again," he said. 
 
 "Yes; I have told you before how they fas- 
 cinate me and England's oldness its beauty. 
 I don't want to leave it. I wish I had been born 
 here and belonged to it. It's wonderful to me that 
 English people should ever try to imitate us over 
 there, or any people in the world. " 
 
 "You want to live here always?" 
 
 She spoke softly, so that they might not hear 
 her in the over-lighted drawing-room behind. 
 "I don't know," she seemed afraid of her own 
 words, "and I don't want to go on with this talk; 
 it's time for you to go, George Wendern; we've 
 had this good day I want to be left alone to 
 think of it. " 
 
 He flew along the white road; there was a moon, 
 as Mrs. Fiflfer had remembered there would be. 
 The way was very still; the breath of the summer 
 night was sweet and warm, it brought back the 
 
 101
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 touch of her lips a few hours ago, when they had 
 stood looking over the wall and down at the twi- 
 light sea. 
 
 102
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ljX)R the next two or three days Wendern was 
 -- chiefly occupied with the Derryford Dock 
 case, a heavy' mail, endless cables, consultations 
 with lawyers, and the fact that for the first time 
 he was face to face with the necessity for money. 
 The lawsuit was expected to last some days, but 
 the result he had no reason to doubt. In the 
 natural course too, other things were bound to be 
 adjusted, for he had many resources, though, by 
 a crisis, of the sort that overtakes most people now 
 and then, they had congested. The personal in- 
 convenience and the household matters were too 
 trivial to worry him; but the Syndicate did, for 
 against his will he was haunted by a sense that 
 Lant, whom he had known long and trusted, was 
 something worse than a speculator with a dash 
 that passed for courage, or genius, and occasion- 
 ally carried all before it. Joe Parker's attitude 
 towards Lant added to his uneasiness; he resented 
 it, for Wendern was loyal to his friends, but he 
 knew that Parker was clear-sighted, with a shrewd 
 knowledge of men. 
 
 "If Lant's an intentional scoundrel," he 
 thought, "there's no honour left for honest men 
 
 103
 
 George Wendern 
 
 to deal with; and it's not to be filched from among 
 thieves." He shrank from remembering any 
 generous deeds of his own; he had always care- 
 lessly maintained there was no merit in doing a 
 right thing, nor even a kind one (if he himself 
 were the doer), when not to do it "would be more 
 or less damnable." But he remembered a time, 
 years ago, when he had cleared Lant's name from 
 an unjust suspicion, and Lant's voice saying, 
 "You have proved me an honest man, George, and 
 may the devil stand by me in the hour I die if I 
 am not one or ever cease to be one." Lant's 
 sister, a girl who had found life too hard to do with, 
 was lying dead in the shanty she had made into 
 a home; he had stood looking down at her white 
 face while he spoke. The next day the two men 
 carried her to a lonely grave in the clearing. 
 "She cared more for me than any one else ever 
 did in this world," Lant said, "and she went out 
 of it, blessing you for what you'd done to me. " 
 
 "You must let me follow it up," Wendern an- 
 swered, and this had been the root of Lant's 
 prosperity. 
 
 They had not met for years, not till Wendern 
 came to London a stranger, curious careless un- 
 practical and dreamy, seeking even then some 
 meaning of a problem he had not yet recognised to 
 be one. Lant had changed, not for the better; 
 
 104
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 but he was obviously rich, popular, and in the 
 swim of things. The rest was a matter of drift- 
 ing. "A man who dropped full-fledged from the 
 clouds, promptly forgot his origin, and enjoyed 
 the snares of the world," Lant once said of him, 
 and it was noticed that he was always at his best 
 with him. His amusements soon palled on Wen- 
 dern, but it was a long time before even a vague 
 suspicion of Lant occurred to him, and then it 
 was promptly dismissed; some things were too 
 impossible he thought, for he remembered the walk 
 back to the shanty from the grave that nothing 
 but two sticks had ever marked. "Besides, 
 Truth gets the upper hand occasionally, even 
 among liars," he added, not that he had taken 
 Lant to be one as yet. 
 
 Parker looked in two mornings after Wendern's 
 visit to Brighton. His manner was embarrassed, 
 he hesitated, and seemed to have something up 
 his sleeve; once he pulled out a telegram, looked 
 at it, after carefully seeing that it was well away 
 from Wendern's line of sight, and then smiled 
 triumphantly as if something had immensely 
 pleased him. He seemed afraid to sit down lest 
 he should be drawn into a conversation he wished 
 to avoid. "I only looked in to ask if Lant had 
 turned up?" he explained. 
 
 "No, but he has come as far as Paris." 
 "He'd better come as far as England, and Lon- 
 105
 
 George Wendern 
 
 don at that. Have you been getting news from 
 home, or anywhere near?" 
 
 "More than enough about the lawsuit; it's 
 down for hearing next week," Wendern answered. 
 There was a pause before he added, "I've been 
 thinking lately about Sandway Strip. " 
 
 "That's curious. What have you been think- 
 ing, George?" 
 
 "I want to see it there are places for which 
 one's eyes grow hungry. " 
 
 "Well, there isn't much to be said for it in the 
 way of looks." 
 
 "Somehow it's home." 
 
 Then Parker made what he considered a joke. 
 "I expect it's too far off for what they call 'week- 
 ends' in England?" 
 
 "It might do some day for a year-end a year- 
 end and a year-beginning." 
 
 Parker got up to go. "Pity you sold the rest," 
 he said. "There's that ranch beyond the creek, 
 the one you let Tim Bradley have. He's in a big 
 way now; he made thousands over the trans- 
 action. " 
 
 "Luck for him," Wendern answered absently: 
 there was another pause. Parker went a step 
 towards the door. 
 
 "George," he said suddenly, "you and I have 
 been friends for pretty long " 
 
 "Pretty long," Wendern echoed. 
 106
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "And you'd forgive me a good deal, I take it 
 even a big mistake, if I was to make one?" 
 
 " Anything. But what the deuce do you mean ? " 
 
 "I'd rather you didn't ask. I'll tell you when 
 I know for certain. " 
 
 Wendern put his hand on Parker's high shoulder 
 and asked, "Have you dined at the Carlton 
 lately?" 
 
 "Well, not exactly at the Carlton there are 
 other places, not bad ones either. All right then, 
 George, I'll go, and I take it that nothing will 
 make a break between us?" With which enig- 
 matical remark he departed. 
 
 But Wendern had no time for Joe Parker and 
 his mystery. Every moment wrested from the 
 strident complications of the hour he gave to the 
 woman who had become the central figure of his 
 life. In some strange manner he felt that she had 
 pushed him aside for a little space, not because 
 she failed him at heart, but because some obliga- 
 tion, some question she was bound to recognise 
 and consider, demanded her thoughts, her reason- 
 ing and pleading. It was all confused, hidden, 
 and intangible to him, but it was evidently real 
 enough, imperative even, to her, and he felt bound 
 to respect her desire to be given over to it till she 
 made a sign and sent for him. He knew that Mrs. 
 Fiffer was back, he had paced the green lawn, that 
 
 107
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 was neutral ground between the houses, in the 
 soft dark hours of the night and seen the light 
 shining from her window; but that was all. The 
 sycamore-tree seemed to be waiting, as he was 
 and as he divined Mrs. Fiffer to be, for Katherine 
 to come back. 
 
 1 08
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 HE was right. Mrs. Fiffer was waiting too, 
 anxious and worried, careful not to see 
 Wendern, and perplexed at the manner in which 
 Katherine had gently but firmly hurried her away 
 from Brighton the morning after his visit. 
 
 "Can't think why you don't want me to stay 
 any longer," she had said. "I have always been 
 fond of you." The voice was pathetic, it drew 
 Katherine to her side and two arms about her 
 neck. 
 
 "Oh mother, mother dear, that has nothing 
 to do with it. You don't understand. Perhaps 
 years hence I shall forget as you do now. " 
 
 "Don't see what that has to do with it?" 
 
 "I want to be alone to think out things." 
 
 " I might advise you a bit. You're your father's 
 child, you've got him in you, and I knew what he 
 wanted well enough." 
 
 "But mother, dear," Katherine said passion- 
 ately, "you don't know what I want. There is 
 new life, different life, in my heart, born since he 
 went." 
 
 "I know what he'd want you to do." 
 109
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Oh yes," half bitterly, "and I know what you 
 want me to do. For you've told me often enough 
 all the things he wanted to get, not because they 
 would make him happier, but just to show how 
 much money he had made, and to enable him to 
 go among people who would have despised him 
 once wouldn't have let him come to their front 
 doors, mother dear. It's lovely to be rich, I 
 don't believe I could do without the luxuries now, 
 but money takes away as much as it gives. " 
 
 "It seems to me you're talking nonsense." 
 But Mrs. Fiffer thought of her own early days, 
 and knew that it was true. 
 
 "One often talks nonsense when one's aching; 
 it's one of the straws to catch at. " 
 
 "Wish I knew what you'd got to ache about?" 
 
 "It hasn't come yet into words that can be 
 spoken; but I know all you did, you and father, 
 and I feel that I ought to help with the final win- 
 ning of your battle with fortune. I know how you 
 worked and slaved and longed over there in our 
 country, and how you thought of the things over 
 here in this one, and all you would do if the chance 
 came to you. He left the chance to me. " 
 
 "It was such a pity he never came over," Mrs. 
 Fiffer interposed regretfully, "he used to count 
 on it so, you can't think; and he would have made 
 a splash." 
 
 no
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 f 
 
 "Oh, yes, we always make a splash." Kath- 
 arine shuddered. 
 
 "You'll do it for him," her mother went on, 
 "and better than he would, I daresay; for you've 
 had more education, seen more than he ever did. 
 But he knew what he wanted, he knew and just 
 longed. Central Park wasn't good enough, nor 
 anything to be had in New York. " She stopped 
 for a moment. " He wanted to be a somebody in 
 England, and he had the means. I was saying 
 to Lord Derbyshire the other day, that the way 
 things were divided was so queer. He sat and 
 told me about his castle and the places he has, and 
 how they were just decaying for want of money 
 that ought to be spent on them." 
 
 "He doesn't value them or know how to treat 
 them," there was bitterness in Katherine's voice. 
 
 "I daresay, but I know this, when he told me, 
 with that funny little laugh of his, how he'd got 
 everything except money, I felt as if I were look- 
 ing at a picture-book, I could see so plainly how 
 it might all be. It would be a fine thing to 
 make everything right. " 
 
 "We might buy his castle and all he has; for 
 the chief thing that is wrong about his property 
 is that he is there in the middle of it. " 
 
 "Well, we wouldn't be right in it either alone. 
 Why, we'd just be ridiculous, as lots of people 
 
 ill
 
 George Wendern 
 
 are in this country who take on the things they've 
 never been used to. I've often thought it. You 
 often say that England is old. The finest things 
 in it are old, and new names and new people don't 
 match them they never look right somehow. " 
 "It's true you are quite right, mother." 
 "Of course, if Lord Derbyshire married some- 
 one with money to set it all right why, that would 
 be another thing. " 
 
 There was a long pause. Then Katherine kissed 
 her. "Go back to London, mother dear," she 
 said, "and leave me to think it all over." 
 
 "Won't it worry you staying here with the 
 Lough- Johnsons about? You never cared for 
 them much." 
 
 "It doesn't matter, they won't ask questions." 
 "Well, you'd be better for some advice. " 
 "I'm going to get it from the sea, and the 
 wind that sweeps over it, and the green downs 
 that go waving along into the distance by the road 
 to Rottingdean, from the sky when it's grey and 
 blue and dark, and the stars that look through it 
 at night. They'll all tell me what I must do; 
 that's why I want to stay. " 
 
 "I don't know where you get your fine talk 
 from," Mrs. Fiffer said wonderingly; "for that 
 isn't like your father. " 
 
 She looked out of the carriage window as she 
 112
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 journeyed up to London at the green fields and 
 the trees, at all the comfortable adjuncts of the 
 English landscape, "I can't help it," she thought, 
 "but I'd like Katherine to be a somebody, she 
 is made for it, she ought to be. I can't think why 
 these American girls who come over here get made 
 duchesses, while Katherine isn't one. She would 
 look just right. Why, to see her walk across the 
 lawn makes you think she is on her way to have a 
 crown put on her head. I want her to marry 
 someone she cares for, as I did for her father, 
 but I want her to be a somebody too. If Mr. 
 Wendern had been a duke, that's what I should 
 like. But I don't see what good it would be if 
 she married an Australian, it wouldn't help her 
 up a bit." 
 
 Two or three restless days went by, she was 
 denied to all visitors, she didn't want them; she 
 never knew what to say to English people who 
 came in their smart dresses, looking as if they'd 
 lived in them all their lives, and sat and made talk 
 while they seemed to be wondering what she had 
 a-year, and how much of it they could turn to 
 their own amusement. If Katherine settled down 
 in England she meant, when she had seen her in 
 the surroundings she wanted for her, but not for 
 herself, to go back to the life she loved best and 
 the people she understood. 
 
 113
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 WEDNESDAY came at last. The two days 
 since she had left Brighton seemed to 
 have drawn themselves out to their longest. 
 
 "Probably I'll hear this morning, she'll tell me 
 the time she is coming," Mrs. Fiffer thought as 
 she went down to her early breakfast, for she never 
 dreamt of keeping the lazy hours of the set she was 
 in, "in but not of," as she once heard someone 
 say of another woman. She knew quite well that 
 the description was applied to her too. "Doesn't 
 matter," she had thought at the time, "I've got 
 money; that makes them all right to me on the 
 outside, and what they're like on the inside 
 doesn't matter a brass monkey." She was dis- 
 turbed at not finding a letter. Katherine had 
 not written since Saturday. 
 
 Wendern was conscious the moment he awoke 
 that it was the day of Katherine's return. He 
 got up early and went for his usual ride in the Park. 
 
 It was the morning, too, that the deputation 
 was to come to his office. But Lant had not 
 arrived. No letter and no telegram. He was 
 growing desperate. Luckily the Derryford law- 
 
 114
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 suit was going ahead, it had begun on Monday, 
 two days ago, and was likely to outlast the week. 
 He had a cable each completed day, and things 
 looked well. With the verdict in his favour he 
 could shake off money difficulties and if Katherine 
 were his there would be nothing in the world left 
 to wish for, unless it were that she consented to 
 let him take her away to the other side of the world 
 to another order of things for half the year at 
 any rate. This hurrying, struggling London was 
 not good enough; for the hurry and struggle was 
 not for life or sustenance, nor only for fortune, for 
 it often did not cease when that was attained, so 
 much as for some intangible betterment of posi- 
 tion; at least it was so in the set he knew best. 
 In the colonies and in America the unspoken, 
 often unacknowledged, ambition of the men was 
 the upraising of their country, to see it rank 
 among the great nations of the earth, not for 
 its size and population only, but for its achieve- 
 ments in those directions that counted among 
 the highest. 
 
 Here they seemed to have smaller, more in- 
 dividual longings, and to put too great a value on 
 ease and comfort. The women sometimes did 
 this in the New World; but the men did not, in 
 the working time at any rate. He thought of the 
 faces he had seen during the short stay he had once 
 
 "5
 
 George Wendern 
 
 made in the States faces with deep lines that told 
 of hard work and concentration on the difficulties 
 and anxieties of business. The necessity of keep- 
 ing the women they loved and the memory of 
 home ties out of their thoughts during the strenu- 
 ous hours of the day had told on them, it had dead- 
 ened the fire of passion, such as he had seen written 
 on the faces in Southern Europe, even some of the 
 divinity of love, leaving only a tired tenderness, a 
 rootless generosity for their belongings to soften the 
 money-making fight; but at the back of their fierce 
 endeavour he had felt that there was not only the 
 struggle for individual wealth and position, there 
 was a dogged determination to pull their country 
 up to the high plane of thought and capacity and 
 achievement. In this lay the main difference be- 
 tween the people of the Old and New Worlds. In 
 England they rested overmuch on their tradi- 
 tions, satisfied with what they had been, confident 
 in the vitality of their fading laurels to blind the 
 nations, no less than themselves, to the weakness 
 of what they had become. Men and women alike, 
 after the acquirement of money, had only the 
 petty ambition of place and social advancement 
 that was not worth having, and desire for pleasure 
 that proved itself Dead Sea fruit. "Not good 
 enough to satisfy the heart and soul of man," he 
 said to himself. But he had been dazed with the 
 
 116
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 whole standpoint since he saw it clearly, dissatisfied 
 above all with the part he had hitherto played in 
 life, for though he belonged to the New World he 
 had done nothing to justify his existence there, any 
 more than in England. He had to think it all out 
 to discover the right road, now that he realised he 
 had been "lost in the wood of the world" and to 
 be sure that it was the one he desired before he 
 set out on it. But first, and above all, he had to 
 smooth "away the present difficulties temporary 
 ones, they seemed to him, not worth worrying 
 about and to win the woman he loved. 
 
 Back to breakfast. He had seen nothing of 
 Mrs. Berwick as yet. She was a tactful creature, 
 he told himself for the hundredth time, and al- 
 ways kept out of the way when she was not 
 wanted. He looked eagerly through his letters. 
 None from Katherine; he had hardly expected 
 it; yet he himself had not been able to bear the 
 silence of the days, nearly a week, without making 
 a sign. Yesterday he had sent her a little note : 
 
 The time is very long, and I am counting the hours. G. 
 
 But he had no time to think even of her. He 
 forced his thoughts on to the deputation and the 
 points to be made. He couldn't understand Lant 
 not writing, nor why he lingered in Paris. He 
 determined to send a telegram at once, and sat 
 
 "7
 
 George Wendern 
 
 down to write it at Mrs. Berwick's table. A fan 
 was beside the blotting-book, it was evidently new. 
 "Joe, of course," he said to himself. "She must 
 have asked him for it and gone with him to choose 
 it, for he would have known better how to buy a 
 hatchet." He stopped a moment to consider 
 Mrs. Berwick and her possible future, "It will 
 be a solution of her difficulties if Joe marries her; 
 I expect she has a battle to fight, and few instru- 
 ments to do it with and he might do worse." 
 Then the telegram: 
 
 Stormy deputation expected this morning, wire to office. 
 Very urgent. State when coming. 
 
 An hour to spare. He was in no humour for 
 Mrs. Berwick and her civilities, and luckily she 
 was still invisible, but he couldn't shake off the 
 desperate longing for news of Katherine; to be 
 certain that she was coming, to know her train. 
 It might be possible to meet her. He went out 
 to the garden, hesitated a moment, and crossed the 
 lawn. 
 
 Mrs. FifFer was sitting by the window on the 
 ground-floor of her house; she came out when 
 she saw him and stood leaning over the wire fence 
 to talk to him. "It's so queer of Katherine not 
 to write, why she has generally sent me a letter 
 every morning when she has been away before, " 
 
 118
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 she said. "But perhaps I shall get a telegram 
 by-and-bye. " 
 
 "I daresay," he spoke in his usual careless man- 
 ner and without a sign of the agitation in his heart. 
 "I wonder if you would telephone through to me 
 at the office if you hear from her it's always 
 pleasant to know at what time a good thing is 
 going to happen." He considered for a moment; 
 the deputation was to come at eleven and would 
 soon be over. "I wonder if I might run down 
 and fetch her?" he suggested doubtfully, for he 
 felt there was some obstacle in the way of his 
 desire. "It's an easy run; I might telegraph that 
 I would be there this afternoon. We should get 
 back here in time for dinner. " 
 
 "Well now, Mr. Wendern, it's no good not 
 speaking plainly, is it? And I think, on the 
 whole, I would rather you didn't go " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "I would rather you didn't," Mrs. Fiffer an- 
 swered firmly. 
 
 "Anyhow," he told himself as he walked back 
 to the house, "I must give up thinking about her 
 or anything else outside the office for the next 
 few hours. Many people are concerned with this 
 Syndicate; only one man and one woman in the 
 complication that has laid hold of me and the 
 majority wins. " 
 
 119
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 "TS there a telegram?" 
 A "No, sir these are all the letters." 
 
 "I thought there would have been something 
 from Lant." This was at the office in Great St. 
 Helen's. 
 
 "Nothing has come, sir," Dawson was nervous 
 and fussy; his belief in Wendern held good, still 
 he thought it well to hazard a remark or two. 
 "Things seem a little ticklish," he said; "we've 
 had three or four shareholders in this morning 
 already, asking about prospects. You see, they've 
 been a good deal upset with that circular. If we 
 don't mind we shall have them all down on us in 
 a heap." 
 
 "A few of them are probably trying to create a 
 slump as a preface to a boom." 
 
 Dawson's face brightened. "I didn't think of 
 that," he said. 
 
 "It's a well-worn dodge." 
 
 "It's a pity Mr. Lant isn't here for the deputa- 
 tion, or that he doesn't do something. " 
 
 "He will. I wired to him a couple of hours ago. 
 1 20
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 Probably we shall hear from him this morning. 
 He is in Paris. The answer ought to have been 
 here already. " 
 
 "He mightn't have been up, sir." 
 
 "He mightn't have been up he is an easy- 
 going man. " 
 
 The deputation arrived punctually at eleven. 
 A queer set of men. A little amusement, tempered 
 by surprise, came into Wendern's eyes as they 
 entered. Foremost was Digby, with his head 
 thrown back, red-faced and thick-set. Carefully 
 keeping beside him was a weedy, large-boned man, 
 obviously a Jew; next to him a dissipated-look- 
 ing man of thirty, who appeared to belong to a 
 better class than most of the others; in the midst 
 of the group a youth on crutches, he was about 
 two-and-twenty, and had a pale face with an 
 eager smile. The others seemed anxious, awk- 
 ward, or half-reluctant, as might be; in the rear 
 was a parson. 
 
 Wendern crossed over from the fireplace to his 
 table. "Good morning, gentlemen, we are not 
 accustomed to so large a party. I don't know 
 if we have enough chairs to accommodate you. " 
 He turned politely to Digby, "I'm sorry you had 
 the trouble of coming the other day. " 
 
 But Digby was determined to show at the out- 
 set that he meant to fight. "I'm not likely to 
 
 121
 
 George Wendern 
 
 shirk taking trouble in this affair, as you will soon 
 find out," he said. 
 
 "Quite right. And this, I think, must be Mr. 
 Lazarus ? " 
 
 "That's my name," the Jew answered. 
 
 "And this is Mr. Shaw?" Digby indicated a 
 tall, loosely knit man who pushed forward from 
 beside the parson. 
 
 "That's Shaw," he said briskly; he looked 
 intelligent. 
 
 "Ah! Good morning, Mr. Shaw. And the 
 others but I have the list." Wendern looked 
 at the paper in his hand. "I take it that you are 
 all here?" He covered them with a look. "And 
 I understand, gentlemen, that you want to speak 
 to me about this Syndicate?" 
 
 "Yes, we do," Digby answered quickly. "There 
 are only eight of us, but sixteen might easily 
 have come. We represent some of those who 
 are thoroughly dissatisfied with the Report, 
 with everything we know about the Syndicate I 
 haven't come across any who are pleased," he 
 added disagreeably. "Of course you've heard 
 that we thought it right to circularise the share- 
 holders; they're wide awake by this time." 
 
 "Quite right again. One should always be 
 wide awake in business matters. What is it you 
 want me to do, gentlemen?" 
 
 122
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 Digby barked, "We are going to speak 
 plainly- 
 
 " By all means." 
 
 "They are saying precious shady things about 
 this Syndicate in the City, and unless it goes right 
 we mean to make it pretty hot for you. " 
 
 "Then it's as well to be on the shady side?" 
 Wendern gave them a weary little smile: two 
 men who, now that they saw him face to face, 
 found it impossible to think him a swindler, 
 smiled back. 
 
 "We have not come here to joke, " Digby barked 
 again. "Perhaps you would like to know what 
 they do say ? In fact it's just as well you should. " 
 
 "I'm not curious; but if it would give you any 
 satisfaction to repeat it, why, of course " with 
 a little shrug. 
 
 "We hear that Bangor was a figurehead; that 
 Lant got the estates for nothing, and they 're worth 
 nothing, for all we know, there mayn't be any 
 estates at all." 
 
 Wendern went back to the fireplace and looked 
 at the map hanging over it. One or two of the 
 men followed him and studied it for a moment. 
 
 "That is the map," he said. "You can see the 
 various roads on it, and the railway running down 
 to the coast is marked out. I don't know if it's 
 finished yet, but it's in the making, things are 
 
 123
 
 George Wendern 
 
 not done in a day, gentlemen. I put in 20,000 
 myself " 
 
 "But the Syndicate found the rest we put in 
 the rest," Digby interrupted. "What's become 
 of it ? That's what we want to know. " 
 
 "The Report has already informed you that a 
 certain amount was held back for office expenses 
 here, the rest was sent out for working expenses 
 there. Mr. Lant is Managing Director " 
 
 "And the Chairman, what about him? He's 
 a lord; but what else does he do? Does he know 
 anything about the Syndicate, or is he a guinea- 
 pig, who takes fees for lending his name? There 
 are plenty of them now-a-days who do that. " 
 
 "Frankly, I don't know him nor any of the 
 Australian directors except Lant. The Chairman 
 is out there. " 
 
 "Well, I looked him up over here. His place 
 is in the market and he divorced his wife, or she 
 divorced him. I suppose he went over there to 
 get out of the way. " 
 
 "Do you mean to say, Mr. Wendern, that you 
 don't know any of the men on this Board?" the 
 parson asked. 
 
 "There are two names that I'm told represent 
 successful men of business Golbreath is one, and 
 the other is Clayton Franklin Clayton who 
 gave 15,000 to an educational scheme in Sydney 
 
 124
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 ten years ago. These two would hardly have ap- 
 peared on the prospectus, or at any rate remained 
 on the Board, if they'd not been satisfied " 
 
 "Well, we're not satisfied," Digby blustered. 
 "Then there's this Lord Derbyshire on the Board 
 this side. Do you know him? and if so, what's 
 the good of him?" 
 
 "Yes, I know him, but I'm not responsible for 
 him. Mr. Lant, who invited him to become a 
 director, will, no doubt, be able to reassure you 
 on all these points when he arrives." Wendern's 
 voice suggested that he had nothing more to say. 
 
 " But we've come to ask you questions, and we 
 expect them answered," Digby insisted. "Our 
 money has been lying idle for a couple of years, 
 or it has fallen into pockets that are not ours. 
 We can't get hold of the men out there, and we 
 don't know anything about this Lord Derbyshire 
 over here. You're the London Managing Direc- 
 tor. We took you to be straight " he stopped, 
 for he suddenly realised that this leisurely polite 
 gentleman might not be as easy-going as he seemed. 
 He added in a different voice, "And I suppose you 
 take your fees?" 
 
 "As it happens," Wendern said quietly, "I've 
 not taken any fees. I want you to understand 
 that Mr. Lant will be in England immediately. 
 In fact I expected him in time for this meeting." 
 
 125
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "I shall tell him I want my 2,000 back," 
 the Jew whined. "Every penny of it was made in 
 good honest trade. I should never hold up my 
 head again if I lost it. " 
 
 "You expected a large profit five-and-twenty 
 per cent perhaps?" 
 
 "I expected to make five-and-fifty per cent, 
 five hundred and fifty per cent " 
 
 "You should also have expected to lose," Wend- 
 ern answered coolly. "A man who expects to 
 make five-and-twenty per cent, much less five- 
 and-fifty, is a fool, if you'll forgive my candour, 
 unless he is prepared to lose. Things that are 
 absolutely safe bring in three and a half per cent, 
 or even less, as you know well enough. What 
 have you to say?" he turned suddenly to a good- 
 looking young man whom he had identified as 
 Bennett. 
 
 "What I have to say is this, sir. I had a thou- 
 sand pounds and was engaged to be married. 
 The prospectus of this Syndicate looked fair 
 enough, seemed better than insuring my life. I 
 thought you yourself wouldn't back a thing you 
 didn't know to be good; I'd heard about you from 
 a friend who knew Lant, and between the two I 
 took it that the Syndicate was safe. " 
 
 "I believed it to be safe." 
 
 "One should do more than believe when one 
 126
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 uses other people's money one should know," 
 there was nothing offensive in the voice. 
 
 "You are quite right," Wendern answered 
 quickly, "I did know, I do. Well, and why did 
 you come in you, my friend?" he was speaking 
 to the cripple. 
 
 "I put in the 500 I got for these," indicating 
 the crutches. "Accident on railway compensa- 
 tion I expected to get a little income out of it. " 
 
 "Poor chap, it'll be all right." He looked at 
 another youth, he was called Dobson, "and you, 
 you are young too young to speculate in syndi- 
 cates. Are you rich?" 
 
 The answer came with a nervous laugh. "Rich 
 I rich ! Mother asked my advice. She got ^500 
 from the insurance when father died and I got 
 500 when I came of age last year; grandfather 
 left it. Mr. Lant used to come to the office, knew 
 my governors, he seemed to be all right and I was 
 always seeing your name in the papers. I thought 
 if it paid ten per cent it would be 100 a-year for 
 her, or anyhow we could take the capital out when 
 the shares were worth double. " 
 
 "Ah, you ought to have known better. And 
 you, reverend sir?" This to the parson who was 
 trying to maintain the dignity of his cloth as well 
 as he could in the office of a Syndicate which he had 
 been recently told was a wild-cat scheme, "have 
 you much money in this concern?" 
 
 127
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Two thousand pounds," came the severe an- 
 swer. "You probably remember meeting me at 
 luncheon a year ago at Sir John Carneford's? 
 Carneford Manor is twelve miles from my living 
 in the country." 
 
 "No, I don't remember. I am sorry." 
 
 The voice that answered was grave and meas- 
 ured. "We had some talk that day, and I took 
 you to be an honourable man. " Wendern looked 
 up, but it had no effect. "A month later I saw you 
 were Managing Director over here of this Syndi- 
 cate, and that Mr. Lant held the same position 
 in Australia. I had often met him when we were 
 in London; he came to see my little son and most 
 kindly took us all to the Hippodrome. I imagined 
 that the affair was sound in every way, and that I 
 might provide for my children more adequately 
 than by investing the 2,000 in the usual securi- 
 ties. I was told I should double my capital. Sir 
 John Carneford thought so too, and advised me 
 to do it; he put in 1,000 himself " 
 
 "All very well for Sir John Carneford, but 
 capital is seldom doubled without risk, and risk 
 of this sort is not good for men in your profession. " 
 
 Digby saw his chance. "Look here, Mr. Wen- 
 dern, this deputation has come to find out where 
 the money is, not to be told what it ought to have 
 done with it. We know that by this time. I call 
 
 it a piece of impudence " 
 
 128
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "You will be good enough to be silent," Wen- 
 dern said firmly. 
 
 "What do you mean by risk of this sort?" Ben- 
 nett asked him. 
 
 "I mean that these Estates were bought for 
 development on the chance of their proving to 
 be worth much more than was paid for them; and 
 whether they were or not was the risk." He 
 looked across at the apparently well-bred man, 
 "What is your holding?" he asked. 
 
 "Same as the parson, a couple of thouV 
 
 "What made you risk it?" 
 
 "I met Lant at Ascot, he was there with Derby- 
 shire, who said he was in it. I had precious bad 
 luck, every horse I'd touched; thought I might 
 pick up over this. Derbyshire said he thought so 
 too. If the cash is gone I shall be done for. " 
 
 "I see. You were none of you fit people to 
 have the control of money. " 
 
 "When you've done treating us as school- 
 boys " Digby was speaking again, but he seemed 
 to have exhausted himself. 
 
 "It is not your business whether we are fit or 
 unfit, Mr. Wendern, but " the parson began and 
 hesitated, not knowing how to go on. 
 
 "And you know, hang it, as Digby says, we 
 didn't come to be asked questions but to ask 
 them ourselves," put in a man at the back. 
 
 129
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "What is the blessed Syndicate actually do- 
 ing?" Shaw enquired. "That's what we want to 
 know; not to be disagreeable; we didn't come for 
 that, at least I didn't." 
 
 "The last Report has told you, I have no 
 later information." 
 
 "But, my dear sir," the manner was courte- 
 ous, "you are Managing Director, and surely it 
 is your business to have information." 
 
 "No; only to see that when it comes it is duly 
 circulated among the shareholders." 
 
 "Well, but who looks after the business?" 
 
 "The Managing Director over there Mr. 
 Christopher Lant, the working manager ap- 
 pointed under him, and the rest of the staff, of 
 course, with the knowledge and approval of the 
 Directors. " 
 
 "But you're on the Board." 
 
 "Yes, and my part is to manage the business 
 here, but the movements of the Syndicate are 
 naturally there, where its property lies. " 
 
 "You vouch for the property being there, and 
 for its value?" 
 
 "No; only for my belief that it is there." 
 
 "But why did you join the Board unless you 
 knew a good deal more than you appear to do?" 
 
 "I knew Christopher Lant in the Colonies, and 
 had no reason to think him anything but an honest 
 
 130
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 man, who had made a large fortune by his business 
 dealings. He brought forward this Syndicate and 
 the working scheme. He told me that he had put 
 in 50,000 himself, and asked me to go into it 
 I put in 20,000 " 
 
 "Fools and their money " Digby began in- 
 solently, but he was silenced by a look. 
 
 "I read the prospectus as you presumably did, 
 and the report of the Surveyor and Engineer em- 
 ployed to examine the Estates. I have never been 
 to the district in which they are situated; but I 
 had heard of its resources and imagined a con- 
 clusion based on the reports I have named that 
 these resources also belonged to the Bangor 
 Estates. I felt justified in risking my own 
 money, and, though I asked no one else to do so, 
 I saw no reason to prevent other people from risk- 
 ing theirs. Developments of large estates are not 
 executed in a day." 
 
 "You see all we know about this Syndicate is 
 what you two men have chosen 1 to tell us," Shaw 
 said. 
 
 Wendern gave a shrug. "Men are hanged or 
 saved on the evidence of their fellow-men ' 
 
 "Not at second-hand for you haven't even seen 
 the place seen nothing in fact, but Lant and the 
 prospectus. " 
 
 "Our reverend friend here who preaches salva-
 
 George Wendern 
 
 tion," Wendern nodded at the parson, "hasn't 
 seen Heaven, only read about it. " 
 
 "My dear sir " the reverend gentleman was 
 shocked. 
 
 "I'm simply trying to prove," Wendern ex- 
 plained, "that the world couldn't go on if we 
 didn't trust men whom we have no reason to be- 
 lieve are liars and scoundrels." 
 
 Digby, at a loss what to do in face of Wendern's 
 manner, muttered, "I don't care if it costs me 
 5,000, I'll make it hot for you all if my 500 is 
 lost." 
 
 "Lost! If our money is lost it would break my 
 wife's heart," the parson said it to himself, but 
 Wendern heard. The words were like a lash. 
 
 "I'd rather drown than tell mother if her 
 money's gone," the young man put in piteously. 
 
 "You were none of you, as I said just now, fit 
 people to speculate in a concern of this sort," 
 Wendern repeated, but there was something in his 
 voice that reassured the anxious ones. "The 
 issue was altogether too important to you, and 
 should have been left to richer men. Luckily there 
 is no reason yet to think this Syndicate a swindle, 
 as such things often are, though the Estates may 
 turn out ill or well. In any case the losses will 
 not be very great, for the largest shareholder, 
 after Mr. Lant and myself, only stands to lose 
 
 132
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 3,000. There are not more than fifty people 
 in it altogether. I have proved what I thought 
 of it by putting in my own money, and I stand or 
 fall with you. " 
 
 "Well," said Shaw, "we expect you to see that 
 we don't fall. You can afford to lose a bit, 
 probably have more than you know what to do 
 with, we haven't it's the other way round, in 
 fact." 
 
 "If you and Lant are millionaires," put in 
 Digby, "why didn't you take up our shares be- 
 tween you and run the accursed thing yourselves?" 
 
 The idea seemed to amuse Shaw. "What's a 
 millionaire for," he said, "if he doesn't take the 
 monster chance?" 
 
 "That's a very interesting proposal," Wendern 
 looked up as if struck by the remark. "I should 
 like to consider it, say till next week. " 
 
 "We should like it settled this week," Digby 
 growled, "and you'd better think it over. You'll 
 have a hailstorm about your head soon, when 
 they've taken in the drift of our circular. " 
 
 The boy entered with a telegram, Wendern's 
 heart leaped. "This may possibly be from 
 Lant," he said. "It is!" he looked up triumph- 
 antly, and read 
 
 In London immediately ', call meeting for Thursday next week. 
 Letter follows. 
 
 133
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Digby gave a grunt. 
 
 Shaw, easily appeased, said, "Well, I suppose 
 we shall know something then?" 
 
 "All I can say to you now, gentlemen, is that the 
 meeting will take place on Thursday. Mr. Lant's 
 telegram has come at the psychological moment. " 
 
 Digby considered for a moment before he said, 
 "Well, we'll wait till Lant comes and no longer." 
 
 "Not a minute longer," Lazarus added. 
 
 The deputation turned to go, but the parson 
 stopped for a parting word, "Remember, Mr. 
 Wendern, that it isn't only ourselves who will 
 suffer," he said, "but those innocent ones who 
 belong to us; they will have to pay the penalty 
 of our reprehensible carelessness. " 
 
 "I say, can't directors who ruin people be had 
 up now?" asked the youth who had invested his 
 mother's insurance money. "Sent to prison and 
 that sort of thing?" 
 
 "There ought to be a hanging penalty attached 
 to it," Digby grunted. 
 
 "Quite right, it ought to be a capital offence," 
 the Jew snuffled. 
 
 "I should like to go to their execution." Digby 
 was recovering. 
 
 "You shall all of you come to mine," Wendern 
 told them with a smile "if it takes place. I 
 fear you must wait to assure yourselves of that 
 
 134
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 probability till after the meeting, of which a notice 
 will be sent you. Good morning." 
 
 Shaw turned back and held out a hand. "I 
 believe you'll get us out of the hole if you can," 
 he said cheerily. 
 
 Wendern's face lighted up as he answered, 
 "There isn't going to be any hole, but if there is 
 I'll get you out." 
 
 "Good morning, Mr. Wendern," the parson 
 said severely. 
 
 "He takes it pretty coolly," Digby was heard 
 telling the others as they went downstairs, "but 
 we shall hear what Mr. Christopher Lant has to 
 say." 
 
 Wendern gave a gasp of relief when the door was 
 shut, and read again the latest cablegram of the 
 Dock case. "They shall be safe in any case," 
 he said to himself. He put down the cable and 
 looked at Lant's telegram. "He can't be a scoun- 
 drel," he thought; "reckless and easy-going, but 
 not a scoundrel." 
 
 Suddenly he remembered and rang the bell. 
 "Is Mr. Parker here?" he asked the boy. 
 
 "Yes, sir, waiting." 
 
 "Tell him to come up." 
 
 135
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 "TT7ELL," Parker asked, "how did it go?" 
 
 VV "Badly." 
 
 "I thought so; a windy sort of a chap down- 
 stairs, evidently a fool, who was afraid to come up, 
 confided in me. " 
 
 "They were all fools or knaves." 
 
 "You seem put out a bit?" Parker examined 
 the strength of the chair, as usual, before he sat 
 down. 
 
 Wendern took out his cigarette case. "I am; 
 not by them, but by my own folly. I wonder if 
 you ever saw the prospectus of this precious Syn- 
 dicate. I'll show you it;" he opened a drawer 
 at the bottom of the writing-table. 
 
 "You needn't trouble, George, I saw it out 
 there." 
 
 "Do you know anything about the Directors? 
 To my eternal disgrace I hardly know anything, 
 though I'm one of them. " 
 
 "Well, the Chairman is a guinea-pig who traded 
 on his titlethe only capital he had. They didn't 
 think much of him in Los Angeles. I came across 
 him there after they'd done with him in Australia. " 
 
 136
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 For the first time in his life Parker saw Wendern 
 looking almost fierce. "There's Franklin Clay- 
 ton," he said, "his name weighed a good deal with 
 me; he gave 15,000 to the Technical Education 
 scheme in Sydney." 
 
 "That was some years ago. He'd been dead a 
 good while before this prospectus was put up, 
 I can tell you. " 
 
 "Dead!" 
 
 "I suppose this is a son or some relation called 
 after him; I don't know anything about him." 
 
 "Why didn't I hear of his death? it must have 
 been in the papers. " 
 
 "You see you've been drifting about the world 
 a good deal, George, and lost touch with things out 
 yonder. " 
 
 "It is eight years since I was there. Do you 
 know anything about James Golbreath?" 
 
 "There are a good many Golbreaths knocking 
 round at various doors; this James has been mixed 
 up in all sorts of concerns, but I never heard of 
 one he had to do with that came to any good. 
 There was no harm in him he was a happy-go- 
 lucky, borrow-your-money, stand-you-a-drink sort 
 of customer. But you're always such a dreamy 
 chap. Most men mixed up in a Syndicate business 
 are wide-awake, you can take my word for that, 
 and ready to pick the pocket of their father's 
 
 137
 
 George Wendern 
 
 ghost when he comes round to haunt them if he 
 died with any coins in it. " 
 
 "I ought to be shot." 
 
 "Not so bad as that, George." 
 
 "Yes, as bad as that. But I never understood 
 the value of money till I wanted it myself. " 
 
 Parker watched Wendern roll his cigarette and 
 light it. 
 
 "You see you always had it." 
 
 "My people were poor enough once; then they 
 scooped it in, but they had not learnt how to use 
 it before they died. " 
 
 "Well, when your turn came you gave it away 
 right and left, so you have nothing to reproach 
 yourself with anyhow. Every poor devil who 
 brought you his tale went away richer than he 
 came." 
 
 "Because I had more than I knew what to do 
 with. I only gave what I didn't want and didn't 
 value. " 
 
 "You didn't hoard it; you weren't a miser." 
 
 "There's no virtue in abstaining from a vice 
 you are not tempted to commit," Wendern said 
 bitterly. "I gave because people asked me, and 
 it was easier to give than to refuse. If they were 
 poor, I gave, so that I mightn't be worried by 
 thinking of their poverty. I took no trouble to 
 see that the money would be spent wisely, or that 
 
 138
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 the people who had it were not impostors. I gave 
 for any scheme that amused me or to any jack- 
 ass I liked who had a tomfool scheme on in fact, 
 I gave; but not for the sake of any good it might 
 do. How much does that sort of generosity count 
 to one? What did it cost me to give? It was no 
 effort. I didn't miss anything, went without 
 nothing." 
 
 "Well, it's better to give than to hoard. A good 
 circulation is everything, whether it's blood, or 
 money, or a newspaper." 
 
 "And this precious Syndicate. Lant amused 
 me I liked his insolence his confidence; he 
 asked me to put in 20,000, and I did. And be- 
 cause I put in my easily gained thousands, people 
 who had seen me about in London, or who had 
 heard that I was rich, or were deceived by the pre- 
 cious prospectus, put in money they could ill 
 afford, all they had. And some of them many 
 of them, perhaps stand to be ruined in conse- 
 quence. But I'll prevent that, though I sell my 
 last stick. Directors of companies who take no 
 trouble about their responsibilities, guinea-pigs, 
 hawkers of one-pound shares, who think of nothing 
 but their own battening and fattening, while the 
 fools who are caught by their names starve, or 
 break their hearts, are often worse thieves than 
 the men who go to prison for vulgar stealing. " 
 
 139
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "But you're not one of them, George?" 
 "I identified myself with them. I did from 
 want of thought, or knowledge, what other men 
 do deliberately. The result is the same; and it's 
 the results that matter to others. " 
 "That's true, George, that's true." 
 "Great God! If I could only pay off these 
 little shareholders. " 
 
 "You will. The Dock case will settle up mat- 
 ters for you." 
 
 "The Dock case may go against me." 
 "Well, never mind if it does; but it can't. 
 It's one of the things I came to say. It's safe 
 certain. " 
 
 "If that's so, things will straighten out," Wen- 
 dern said and wrinkled his forehead. "Every man 
 in the Syndicate shall get back the money he put 
 in through any influence of mine, and Lant shall 
 do the same with the rest or I'll throttle him. 
 Who gave you your information?" 
 
 "The Agent-General; I've just been to him. 
 He had a cable." 
 
 "It seems to be making a stir; the papers give 
 an account of it every morning, and they cable 
 me the pith of each day's hearing. If it goes right 
 the worries will be at an end. " 
 "I think they are coming to an end, George." 
 Wendern vaguely wondered at his confidence. 
 140
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Well, I shall have learnt a lesson. Let's talk 
 of something else. " 
 
 There was a pause before Parker ventured to 
 ask, "Seen Miss Fiffer lately? I should like to 
 know how things are going in that direction?" 
 
 Wendern realised then how anxious he had 
 been about the Syndicate business from the fact 
 that for the last hour he had forgotten he was ex- 
 pecting to hear from Katherine. "I went to see 
 her the other day; she's coming home this after- 
 noon, I believe," he said. 
 
 "Well, she's got some cash; if you marry 
 her- 
 
 "I shall never touch it. Not a penny of it, not 
 a cent; I've made up my mind to that." 
 
 > 
 
 "But what would you expect her to do with it?" 
 
 " Keep it. Spend it as she likes best and have 
 it out with her own conscience. Oh, I 've thought 
 things over in the last few days, Joe, and I'll tell 
 you this, we talk of educating the poor and suffo- 
 cate them with stuff of no use to them, but it is 
 the rich who need educating and the responsi- 
 bility of money is the first thing they have to 
 learn." 
 
 "You see, they like to get something out of it 
 for themselves. " 
 
 "Of course they do. I don't mean that they 
 should give it all away to charities or to a class 
 
 141
 
 George Wendern 
 
 that is poor only because it won't work. The idle 
 poor are as bad as the idle rich worse, for their 
 idleness often brings consequences more tragic, or 
 more immediate at any rate. It's too big a sub- 
 ject to discuss now; but if I were a law-maker, 
 fooling away money should be a crime not spend- 
 ing. The men who knows how to spend properly 
 is all right, but the people who fool it away, rich 
 or poor, are criminals. " 
 
 "You don't mean they oughtn't to amuse 
 themselves occasionally?" Parker was a little 
 upset. 
 
 "Of course not, though there's too much pleas- 
 ure-seeking now in every class, if pleasure is the 
 right name to give to going night after night to 
 the stalls of the theatre or the gallery of a cheap 
 music-hall they are the two ends of the stick 
 till there's no home life left. Slow suicide, Joe, 
 to the best side of them all, the everlasting bout 
 of thoughtless racket that goes on now. " 
 
 "You know," said Parker after a pause, "it's 
 rather pleasant to fool away money occasionally 
 on a woman, for instance." 
 
 "You're finding that out, are you? You had 
 better go back to Australia, Joe. How much did 
 you give for that fan, by the way?" 
 
 "Did she tell you about it?" the backwoodsman 
 
 asked sheepishly. "Didn't think " 
 
 142
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 The telephone bell rang. Wendern turned to it 
 feverishly. 
 
 "Katherine is staying at Brighton till to-mor- 
 row," he said when he had replaced the receiver. 
 "I should like to motor down and fetch her, but 
 for some reason the mother doesn't want me to 
 go, and for the life of me I can't think that Kath- 
 erine does." 
 
 "Then I wouldn't. Besides, I should say it's 
 a good thing not to let a woman see you're eager. " 
 
 "But I am." It was said under his breath. 
 "My life is hanging on her." 
 
 Parker slowly elaborated what he considered 
 to be a joke. " I don't hold with any sort of hang- 
 ing," he said, "but I'm beginning to see that if 
 one takes to thinking about a woman at all, a good 
 many things have a way of hanging themselves on 
 her." 
 
 Dawson entered. "Sir John Carneford, sir." 
 
 Parker held out his hand. "You'll see me again 
 soon, and I shouldn't wonder if I'm going to 
 give you a surprise," with which lucid remark he 
 departed. 
 
 143
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SIR JOHN CARNEFORD was a fussy gentle- 
 man of fifty, a little grey, and growing stout, 
 but still a good figure of a man. "The matter is 
 this, " he said when they had exchanged greetings, 
 "I've come up on purpose to see you. Cyril 
 Graham, our vicar you met him when you came 
 over to luncheon at Carneford last year is very 
 anxious about your Syndicate " 
 
 "He was here just now." 
 
 "Oh! I knew he was upset, but I didn't know 
 he was in London. He had a couple of thousand 
 to invest; he asked my advice, and I told him to 
 trust it to Lant. I put in a thousand myself, and 
 to tell the you truth, I can no more afford to lose 
 the money than he can. " 
 
 "A little more, I should say." 
 
 "Well, it would be most inconvenient. You 
 see, he had heard that Lant, who was very kind 
 to his children was a millionaire, and I knew 
 you. Naturally, I thought nothing could be 
 better." 
 
 "If the thing went wrong, I suppose you 
 wouldn't let him lose his money?" 
 
 144
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 "I don't want to lose mine," Sir John answered 
 testily. 
 
 " Still, when a poor man, or any one else, asks 
 your advice about investments you should send 
 him to a banker or a family lawyer, who would 
 tell him that the Directors of a Syndicate for ex- 
 ploiting Australian estates no matter how honest 
 they may be are not the right people to invest 
 money with. " 
 
 "You don't mean that the thing isn't safe?" 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 "Don't know!" The good gentleman was 
 astounded. 
 
 "I have 20,000 in it myself." 
 
 "That may be a trifle to you, but 1,000 is a 
 good deal to me. " 
 
 "It's more than a trifle to me. However, 
 Lant will be in England directly, and a meeting 
 will be called that's all I can tell you. " Wendern 
 rose to put an end to the interview. 
 
 "I don't want to be unpleasant, but if it turns 
 out badly I shall expose I mean to say I shall call 
 for an investigation. Lant was most agreeable 
 and vigorous, as colonists often are; but I don't 
 think the fact that a man has stayed at your 
 house should prevent you from taking measures 
 that are right in the interests of justice. And, 
 Mr. Wendern, it was because we all liked you that 
 
 145
 
 George Wendern 
 
 I ventured " Sir John was raising his voice; 
 he felt as if he were sitting on the bench at the 
 petty sessions in his own post town. 
 
 Wendern put his hand on Carneford's arm and 
 smiled; he was almost amused. "It is strange 
 to have to regret that I won your good opinion," 
 he said. 
 
 "You are very cool." 
 
 "It's no good getting hot. Take my advice, 
 and wait till Lant comes over. " 
 
 Against his will the other man was propitiated. 
 He had always liked Wendern. 
 
 "The fellow has such a charming voice," he 
 told his wife that evening. "Pon my life, I 
 couldn't believe that he was an impostor, or would 
 do anything at all, in fact, that wasn't straight- 
 forward and aboveboard. There's something 
 about him that makes it impossible. I really 
 don't know how to explain what I mean. " 
 
 "I know," his wife answered. 
 
 "I daresay you do. I should think a good many 
 women did." 
 
 This was why he held out his hand. 
 
 "All right," he said, "I'll wait till Lant comes 
 over. By the way, I met a charming girl on Sun- 
 day at Brighton Miss Fiffer. A great friend 
 of yours, isn't she?" 
 
 "I should like to think so." As Wendern 
 146
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 spoke another telegram was brought to him. He 
 took it quickly, his hand closed over it, but he 
 seemed in no hurry to open it. 
 
 "Well, I feel sure you may. " Sir John felt that 
 he was expected to say something more. "A 
 great heiress, isn't she?" 
 
 "I suppose so," Wendern answered coldly. 
 Why did a middle-aged man's thoughts turn as 
 naturally to money as a young man's to love? 
 
 The door opened and Derbyshire appeared. 
 Sir John, about to depart, pulled up. "Ah, how 
 do you do, Derbyshire? You're in this Syndicate 
 too Director, eh!" 
 
 "That's it. I'm in." 
 
 "Have you come to look after it?" 
 
 "Of course. How do, Wendern?" 
 
 "Well, perhaps you can tell me something 
 about it?" Sir John said. 
 
 "Can't tell you anything about it wouldn't 
 do business is business. But it's all right," 
 Derbyshire answered. He gave the elder man 
 a nod of dismissal; it was taken and the door shut. 
 
 Wendern had read his telegram, and was 
 scrunching it in his hand; he had hardly heard the 
 brief conversation of a moment ago. 
 
 He looked up. Derbyshire was waiting. "Well, 
 what is it?" he asked impatiently. 
 
 "Look here, I've got some money in this show 
 of yours. " 
 
 147
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Of yours too you are a Director." 
 
 "Of course, but I don't know anything about 
 
 it." 
 
 "You didn't make any inquiries before you 
 went on the Board?" 
 
 "Not a bit. Lant said it was all right, so I 
 didn't see why I should worry. But I've got a 
 thousand pounds in it. " 
 
 "You didn't pay the thousand?" 
 
 "Oh no, of course not, I never pay anything 
 not so extravagant as that. Lant wanted the use 
 of my name on the prospectus, and I wanted a 
 thousand pounds always do. I didn't get it, but 
 he said I should, and a good deal more as well 
 out of shares allotted, you know. " 
 
 "Ah! You met Lant before you knew me, at 
 Grantham Abbey?" 
 
 "That's it. Well, I'm rather hard up just now; 
 you can keep my name on or off as you like, but 
 I've been wondering whether you'd let me have 
 the thousand pounds out, and I'll let you have 'the 
 good deal more as well. ' ' 
 
 "Your generosity is overwhelming." 
 
 "Don't know about that, but I call it a fair 
 offer, and you know all about Lant it was Lant 
 put me on to you. Thought you'd be rather 
 pleased, especially after the telegram I had from 
 him this morning." 
 
 "Telegram you had? A telegram from Lant?" 
 148
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 Derbyshire nodded. "Says he'll be in London 
 this week. Staying at the Grosvenor Hotel, and 
 the Syndicates doing brilliantly. That's why I 
 thought you'd let me have the thousand, don't 
 you know." 
 
 "You must wait till he comes." 
 
 "Oh. " Derbyshire was evidently disappointed. 
 "Well, but anyhow, couldn't you let me draw, 
 say five hundred? You've no idea how useful 
 money is; fact is, I went to Brighton a few days 
 ago, and look here, I should like to tell you 
 something, ask your advice. You know I've been 
 mixed up rather with that little girl at the Prince's 
 Theatre, and she's not likely to cut up rusty at 
 all, awfully good sort; but there's Miss FifFer 
 and well " 
 
 "I would rather not discuss Miss FifFer or the 
 little girl." 
 
 "Oh all right. Can you let me have that 
 500?" 
 
 "No, I can't let you have that 500." 
 
 "Oh, I say." Derbyshire sat down. "Look 
 here, Wendern, you mustn't mind my telling you, 
 but people are saying rather awkward things 
 about this Syndicate." 
 
 "I'm sorry, but I'm busy, and you must let 
 me send you away. Lant will tell you anything 
 you want to know when he comes." 
 
 149
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 "Oh well, I must get some food, and catch 
 a train 2.30 at Victoria. " 
 
 There was a slight movement of Wendern's 
 head. 
 
 "Sure you can't manage 500?" Derbyshire 
 asked. "I'm rather up a tree." 
 
 "Quite sure." 
 
 "Very singular. Well, good-bye." He hesi- 
 tated; his manner was pleasant and boyish. "I 
 say, old chap, you look rather down on your luck; 
 hope you're not up any sort of tree, too? It's 
 an awful bore, you know." 
 
 "No, it's all right, and you'll get down yours 
 when Lant comes. " 
 
 "Glad of that. Good-bye." He hurried away. 
 
 Wendern smoothed out the telegram in his 
 hand and read it again. 
 
 It ran 
 
 Returning to-morrow afternoon. Come and see me at our 
 house at six. Please do not come to Brighton or write. 
 
 Katherine. 
 
 Six o'clock to-morrow. He counted the time. 
 It was half-past one now. Twenty-eight and a 
 half hours till he saw her.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 TWENTY-EIGHT hours and a half. The 
 deputation had forced itself on his considera- 
 tion for the morning, but he knew that all the time 
 he had been waiting for her. And that the visit 
 to Brighton had satisfied him in spite of the re- 
 straint in which she had seemed to hold herself, 
 and of some things he had not been able to un- 
 derstand, for she was his; he felt it, knew it to 
 doubt her, as he had said to Parker, would be to 
 insult her. As for Derbyshire, what did he matter? 
 He might fool round her as much as he pleased. 
 
 Katherine! He could see her walking across 
 the lawn, her tall slim figure, her light free step 
 as if her feet touched the ground with a proud 
 love of it. He dared not remember the look in 
 her eyes the other night, it made his brain whirl, 
 and he wanted to keep it clear for business mat- 
 ters that still demanded attention; but every day 
 and night that passed wove her closer and deeper 
 into his life. Twenty-eight hours and a half till 
 she came, sixty minutes to every hour he could 
 be calm enough outwardly ; but it seemed impossible
 
 George Wendern 
 
 to live through them. "If she and I were only a 
 few thousand miles away in some part of the world 
 which is as God left it, with the chance of coming 
 back to this country she is so fond of when we'd 
 thought out a sane scheme of life " he said to 
 himself. But his eye caught a heap of letters and 
 papers as yet untouched. He shunted her (as he 
 called it) to a siding in his thoughts while he 
 resolutely turned to the business of the Syndicate. 
 There were dozens of letters brought down by the 
 circular, grumblings, complaints, threatenings; 
 each writer intent on himself and his bit of money 
 without a thought of the possible difficulties to be 
 encountered by a large concern and the develop- 
 ment that was frankly, from the outset, a specu- 
 lative one. "It's the old story," he thought, 
 "they are hampered by the whisperings of the 
 devil, and the difficulties of living with any satis- 
 faction to themselves in the midst of what is called 
 a great civilisation." 
 
 He sent for Dawson, "I want to know," he 
 said, "if you made out that list of shareholders ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "I will go through it." 
 
 For the next hour he was hard at work. It 
 dismayed him to find, from a receipt among some 
 papers, that it was through him that Digby had 
 come into the Syndicate. Wendern had never
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 seen him till the day he presented himself at the 
 office, knew nothing about him. It seemed that 
 he was a surveyor and land-valuer; and a couple 
 of summers ago, when the Bangor scheme was first 
 before the public, Wendern had taken a little place 
 in the country for a few weeks; there had been no 
 garage to it, and one had been rented through 
 Digby, who had thus heard of the Syndicate, and 
 associated it with his evidently rich tenant. 
 
 The number of small investors, mostly brought 
 in by Lant, was considerable, and the sum involved 
 came to more than it had seemed at a rough 
 guess. "It doesn't matter," Wendern said, "they 
 shall get their money back or both of us shall pay 
 the piper. Luckily, if Lant proves to be a scoun- 
 drel, he is a good-natured one; that has always 
 been to his credit." 
 
 He went carefully over the list of shareholders, 
 and set down on a separate sheet those for whom 
 he considered himself responsible; there were not 
 more than twenty altogether. In a third list he 
 put the small ones brought in by Lant, and 
 against them their position, so far as could be 
 ascertained, with conjectures of what the loss of 
 their money might mean to them. It was in this 
 third one that most of those he had seen to- 
 day were included Bennett, Shaw, the boy on 
 crutches, and the youth who had speculated with 
 
 153
 
 George Wendern 
 
 his mother's money. "I'm glad I'm not respon- 
 sible for the poor young fools," he thought, "but 
 it's rough that they should start out into the world 
 with this sort of experience. A good lesson, the 
 moralist might say but the moralist is only a 
 prison warder of the better sort, who usually 
 leaves his keys about." 
 
 Dawson was longing to ask questions concerning 
 the analysis, but he had not the courage, till the 
 business being finished and the papers put away 
 he ventured to say, "You don't think there's 
 anything to be nervous about, sir?" 
 
 He was answered in a rather sharp manner, 
 for the "chief," "Whether there is or not, you 
 will get your money. Copy out these lists and 
 have them ready in the morning." 
 
 He looked up at the clock. Half-past two. 
 Twenty-seven hours and a half. They had to 
 be filled. He felt that it was impossible to go 
 back to Princes Gate and look across at the house 
 at right angles to his own. For a minute, in his 
 thoughts, he walked up and down the lawn and 
 stood beneath the sycamore-tree by the gate that 
 led into the Fiffer "bit. " There were many other 
 trees; their July leaves screened the windows and 
 softened the walls of the houses. It was a won- 
 derful thing to have that green space behind. In 
 front of his house (though not, of course, of the 
 
 154
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 Fiffers'), beyond the private roadway and the 
 main road beyond, the park stretched away to an 
 indefinite distance; and an indefinite distance of 
 any sort always appealed to him. Lant had done 
 well for him in making him take that house. He 
 wondered if Katherine would ever live in it. Then 
 it would be good to come home to sometimes, from 
 the long journeys and the staying away at the 
 world's end that he often vaguely imagined. It 
 was differently arranged from those next it; the 
 staircase had been turned round so as to give a 
 wide dining-room opening out to the back, as did 
 the morning-room. Idly, and just for the pleasure 
 of it, he planned various improvements that were 
 possible. Perhaps, if Katherine came he pulled 
 himself together. Dawson was waiting. 
 
 "It seems to me you must be hungry," Wendern 
 said to him, prosaically enough; "it must be a 
 long time since you had food." 
 
 "It doesn't matter, sir." 
 
 "It matters a great deal; I must want some too. 
 We'll go together somewhere. " Dawson was over- 
 come, for he adored Wendern. "While we are 
 eating the car can be getting towards me." He 
 telephoned to Rogers to send it to the Grill Room 
 entrance of the Carlton in half an hour, with 
 things in it sufficient for a night's absence. He 
 had remembered a quiet inn near Farnham; he 
 
 155
 
 George Wendern 
 
 had gone to it late last year with a man he knew, 
 for some wild-duck shooting over the ponds. It 
 had been quiet then; it would probably be full 
 now with summertime guests. They would be 
 sitting at the little tables in the garden, or pulling 
 themselves about on the water but he could be 
 blind and deaf at will. 
 
 In two hours' time he was motoring himself 
 along the Portsmouth Road, for he had dismissed 
 the chauffeur: he wanted to be alone, to think 
 and dream uncriticised, unhampered by even a 
 servant. He went slowly, to the discontent per- 
 haps of the watchers, and the police traps for 
 which that way is celebrated, glad to get into 
 Surrey, with its bell-heather it was nearly over, 
 dead and brown in patches its gorse and broom 
 and whortleberries, and the blueness of the hills 
 ranged in the soft distance. He turned off sharp 
 on the right along the Farnham Road, by Churt, 
 and on to the sandy one that led to the ponds 
 and the inn with the wooden balcony that he re- 
 membered. They had room for him for just one 
 night, he was told; he explained that he wanted 
 to stay only till the early morning. He thought of 
 the places the sun would have seen after it had 
 sunk in the west and came up for the dawn the 
 dawn of the day on which Katherine would return. 
 He meant to be back at the office in time for the 
 
 156
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 business of life and news of Lant. There might 
 even be a line from her, who knew? He had told 
 Rogers to see that the letters were sent on to him 
 at the office by ten o'clock. 
 
 157
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 MRS. FIFFER heard from Katharine by the 
 second post, an hour after Wendern had 
 gone to his office. A scrappy little letter, saying 
 that she would be back the next afternoon, and 
 asking her mother to telephone to Wendern, which, 
 of course, was done. The telegram to him was 
 evidently a later thought, due probably to the 
 idea that she owed him some communication. 
 
 The morning passed uneasily, laggingly; the 
 drawing-room, the whole house, was heavy with 
 the scent of flowers. Mrs. Fiffer wondered why 
 it was necessary to have so many about, but 
 Katherine liked them. "It's no good my fuss- 
 ing," she thought; "I'll just sit down and wait, 
 and if the show passes the window I'll see it. I 
 can't do anything. " She had realised very clearly 
 that ^Catherine's character was a stronger one than 
 her own, and that she would turn the key herself 
 in the door she meant to open. Something was 
 going to happen, everything in the house seemed 
 to know it, but it was no use trying to guess what 
 it was; perhaps, as she expressed it, "things were 
 tired of doing nothing and meant to be a little 
 startling somehow. " 
 
 158
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 In the early afternoon it struck her that she 
 would go and pay Mrs. Berwick a visit, "She 
 might like it. I've no doubt she feels lonely 
 sometimes. Besides, I never do go to see her, 
 for of course, when Mr. Wendern is at home it's 
 always to see him. " She dressed carefully, feeling 
 that it would look polite, and went by the front 
 door; the garden way across, at the back, was 
 only an intimate thoroughfare for occasional use 
 when the little gates between, that safeguarded it, 
 were open. 
 
 She liked Mrs. Berwick, though not for a mo- 
 ment did the shrewd American woman make any 
 mistake about her. She saw the good qualities 
 of the lady-housekeeper and guessed at her pluck, 
 her courage, and endurance. "Daresay, too," 
 she thought, "she gets a few snubs when she 
 doesn't want them, and she may like a talk with 
 someone she can be easy with. I wouldn't mind 
 doing something for her some day. I can't bear 
 the thought of a woman like that being left on 
 an island, as one may say, in her middle age; for, 
 once her looks are gone, she doesn't make much 
 way unless she has money or something else to 
 count." 
 
 She turned the corner, and was within a few 
 yards of the house when she saw Joe Parker leave 
 it. "Well, now," she said to herself, "that's in- 
 
 159
 
 George Wendern 
 
 teresting; perhaps it's the way things are going to 
 settle themselves for her. He knows that Mr. 
 Wendern isn't in at this time of day, so he must 
 have gone to see her." She stopped firmly in 
 front of him. "Why, Mr. Parker," she said, "I 
 was just going to call on Mrs. Berwick; I expect 
 that's what you've been doing?" 
 
 " It is, marm, " he said. " I trust I see you well ? 
 I saw Wendern this morning, and he tells me your 
 daughter is not back yet." 
 
 But Mrs. Fiffer was not to be put off the scent 
 so easily, "I expect you had a pleasant talk with 
 Mrs. Berwick?" 
 
 "I did," he answered, "and I hope you'll have 
 the same." 
 
 "I call her a very nice woman." 
 
 "You're right, marm, and I won't detain you 
 from her any longer. When Miss Fiffer comes 
 home, perhaps you'll let me give you all a little 
 entertainment?" 
 
 "Why, we'd like it," Mrs. Fiffer beamed. 
 "What way would you propose to do it?" 
 
 "Well, we might dine somewhere," he said 
 slowly, "then go to a theatre and have supper 
 afterwards, at some other place where there is 
 music, and see the smart people I believe that's 
 the thing that is considered amusing in London; 
 and if you and Mrs. Berwick will just arrange the 
 
 160
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 details I'll take it as a favour. Wendern's one 
 of my oldest friends, and I can't tell you how much 
 I admire Miss Fiffer 
 
 "It's really very nice of you, Mr. Parker, I'll 
 be pleased; and I shouldn't be surprised if you 
 enjoyed it as much as any of us you and Mrs. 
 Berwick. " 
 
 "That'll be saying a good deal," he admitted, 
 with a shake of his head and a grip of her hand 
 that made her wish she had forgotten, as she often 
 did, to put the diamond rings on her strong honest 
 fingers. 
 
 "I feel sure of it, JVJr. Parker," and with this 
 she went on to pay her visit. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick was in her own little sitting- 
 room near the front door, for, as a rule, she used 
 the morning-room only in the first part of the 
 day. Wendern always expected to find her there, 
 ready to discuss any household arrangements. He 
 had told her that it was at her service whenever 
 he was out of the way, or indeed when he was at 
 home too, if she chose to make use of it; but Mrs. 
 Berwick knew that he liked it better than any other 
 room, and that naturally he liked it to himself. 
 Nevertheless, when Wendern's message arrived, 
 stating that he would not be home till to-morrow, 
 she felt at liberty to receive her visitors there. 
 She was charmingly dressed, and had the slightly 
 
 161
 
 George Wendern 
 
 absent smiling air of a woman who has made a 
 recent conquest and is thinking it over. 
 
 "It is so kind of you to come and see me," she 
 said. 
 
 "Well, but wasn't it clever of me to wait till 
 jMr. Parker had gone?" 
 
 * "Oh, no, dear Mrs. Fiffer, he would have loved 
 talking to you." 
 
 At which dear Mrs. Fiffer winked inwardly and 
 told her of his desire to make up a theatre party. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick was delighted; always a little 
 sensitive of the position she occupied, she jumped 
 gratefully at any recognition that took the form 
 of including her in the usual round of a richer world 
 than her own. She thought of her husband's 
 crew, of how they had patronised her in days gone 
 by, and finally dropped her she hated them all 
 and never meant to know them again, let things 
 take what turn they would. Wendern, though 
 he had engaged her for definite work, had treated 
 her properly, and always with deference. Unfort- 
 
 t unately she knew perfectly that her time in Princes 
 Gate was fast coming to an end. Something was 
 wrong with the money part of it; that she herself 
 might not get a penny troubled her little, for if she 
 was mercenary she was not so in a petty fashion; 
 it was the thought of the good time that would be 
 over that worried her, that and the reaching 
 
 162
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 out of her heart towards Wendern. Sometimes 
 she could not curb it, though she kept a tight hand 
 over herself, for she had grasped from the first 
 moment she saw him that she would never be any- 
 thing more to him than the nice little lady who 
 presided over his household, to be treated with 
 courtesy and kindness and that was all. But she 
 was a sensible woman who having once allowed 
 sentiment to govern her, to her own disaster in by- 
 gone years, never meant it to do so again. Still, 
 life had its difficulties, and before Parker appeared 
 on the scene she had felt the future vaguely 
 threatening her with some of those she most 
 dreaded. She had sat down and considered pos- 
 sibilities. Among them, whether if Katherine 
 married Wendern, Mrs. Fiffer would find that she 
 disliked being alone and invite Mrs. Berwick to 
 help her through social difficulties and amenities, 
 or to do courier business for her when she travelled. 
 She had smiled a little at the idea, for she felt that 
 such a post might be amusing, and that Mrs. 
 Fiffer would be generous, almost as generous as 
 Wendern, who would give away anything he 
 possessed, but unfortunately hadn't the business 
 habit of making prompt payments. 
 
 With the coming of Parker a new era dawned 
 for her. He was not a man to inspire the senti- 
 ment she found it impossible to help having for 
 
 163
 
 George Wendern 
 
 his friend, but she liked him, his roughness, his 
 simplicity, his outspokenness. And he had money, 
 that she had made out, quantities of it, and oh ! the 
 blessedness of not having to think about money, 
 of never wanting it again. If he asked her to 
 marry him, she felt that she ought to jump at him 
 and be grateful. It wouldn't be the fate for which 
 unconsciously her heart longed, but the long- 
 ings of one's heart have often to do without the 
 attention they desire, and Parker, if she took him, 
 should get his fair exchange by which she meant 
 his share of affection and the fulfilment of all his 
 indefinite expectations concerning her. Failing 
 the two alternatives she saw nothing before her 
 but (as she had explained to Mrs. Rigg) advertis- 
 ing again in the papers for another post. 
 
 She was highly diplomatic in her talk with Mrs. 
 Fiffer, and to all that lady's hints she appeared 
 utterly unconscious. 
 
 "I thought I saw you and Mr. Parker at the 
 theatre the other night, Mrs. Berwick?" Mrs. 
 Fiffer said at last, finding that roundaboutness was 
 of no avail, "and I'd like to know what's coming 
 of it?" 
 
 "Oh, there's nothing coming of it," Mrs. Ber- 
 wick put some well-feigned surprise into her ac- 
 cents, "except that he's very lonely in London 
 and doesn't know his way about. He asked me 
 
 164
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 if I would go with him, and I simply hadn't the 
 heart to refuse. It would be so kind of you to 
 invite him sometimes, dear Mrs. Fiffer." 
 
 "Well, I daresay we could do with him," then 
 suddenly she put another question. "What will 
 you do if Mr. Wendern gets married? You 
 won't want to stay on here then though no 
 doubt they'd like it." 
 
 "Sometimes I think I'll take a cottage in the 
 country, or perhaps a very little flat if I stay 
 in London." She had never thought anything 
 of the sort, but it sounded well. 
 
 "There's always something apologetic about 
 a very little flat in England, that is; it seems to 
 feel that it isn't a house and would like to be one. " 
 
 "And they are very expensive but everything's 
 expensive. Mr. Wendern says happiness that 
 doesn't depend on money is the only sort worth 
 having but I don't know where it's to be found." 
 Mrs. Berwick's words came from her heart. 
 
 "He is quite right, though but for money J. B. 
 Fiffer wouldn't have been lying under a marble 
 monument that is one of the finest things in the 
 whole cemetery he would have had a head- and 
 foot-stone at most, and a bit of grass between." 
 
 "I fear I shan't even get that." 
 
 "My dear woman, you'll sleep just as soundly 
 if the parish buries you." 
 
 165
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Oh, yes," Mrs. Berwick said with a sigh, "I am 
 sure I shall. I get so tired," she added, in a voice 
 unconsciously pathetic, "that sometimes I think 
 it will be a good thing when it's all over. " 
 
 "If you were going to die this minute you 
 wouldn't think so." 
 
 "No, I daresay not. But it's wonderful how 
 we all long for happiness. That's why we want 
 to be rich." 
 
 "Well, it isn't being rich that makes you happy." 
 
 "No, but " 
 
 "Why, when J. B. and I married we hadn't a 
 cent for years, but we were so happy we could have 
 sung for joy and encored ourselves; there was no 
 one else to do it." 
 
 "How sweet!" 
 
 "And when the money first came in we didn't 
 want to be worried by it, so J. B. used it to make 
 more that's how he got his pile. " 
 
 "And you weren't happier for it?" 
 
 "Not we. The big house in New York and all 
 the trappings were only so much work to do and 
 trouble to look after. I used to sit and think of the 
 time when we'd just one room and everything 
 in it might have been bought for ten dollars and 
 sold for five, and wish myself back there again, or 
 in the apartment house we moved to next anyway; 
 we'd only four rooms there. I felt more at home; 
 
 166
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 and J. B. and I had more time to care for each 
 other than when we had to waste it on people who 
 were three-quarter strangers to us. But it's no 
 use thinking; I've got used to this life now, and 
 my Katherine she'd be lost without a big house 
 and fine clothes she'd be like a chicken plucked 
 of its feathers alive and turned out into the poul- 
 try-yard. Well, I must be going," Mrs. Fiffer 
 got up and hesitated, "I telephoned to Mr. Wen- 
 dern this morning," she said, "telling him Kath- 
 erine wasn't coming back till to-morrow," she 
 hesitated again, "and I happen to know that 
 Lord Derbyshire is going down to see her this 
 afternoon. I expect that's why she's staying. 
 How it's going to turn out I can't say," she added 
 significantly. 
 \ "But last week Mr. Wendern went down too." 
 
 "Why, yes, he did, and our friends there were 
 awfully taken with him. They said he had a 
 lovely manner, and a look in his eyes any woman 
 might be foolish about." 
 
 Mrs. Berwick felt her way with caution. "And 
 don't you think that they care for each other? 
 I'm certain Mr. Wendern is devoted to her, 
 every one is, of course; but don't you think that 
 she cares for him?" 
 
 "I don't think they'll marry each other, if that's 
 what you mean. Of course, when we're young 
 
 167
 
 George Wendern 
 
 we're often pretty close about our love-affairs, just 
 as when we grow old we are about our money 
 matters, and it's sometimes wise not to inquire 
 into either. I like Mr. Wendern very much I 
 don't know who doesn't; but I don't mind telling 
 you in confidence that I hope she'll take Lord Der- 
 byshire. You see he has some things that Mr. 
 Wendern hasn't, though of course Mr. Wendern 
 is richer." 
 
 " Do you think she cares for Lord Derbyshire ? " 
 
 "Well, we haven't talked it over I never talk 
 about a thing if I've set my heart on it; it usually 
 frightens it away." 
 
 "And you've set your heart on Lord Derby- 
 shire?" 
 
 "I don't know that; but I think it would work 
 very well. She'll settle it herself anyhow; Kath- 
 erine is a girl who will have her own way; young 
 people do nowadays it seems to me that parents 
 are out of fashion, though she is very good to 
 me, very loving, and has fine ideas of life. " 
 
 "I am sure she has," Mrs. Berwick said softly, 
 and rang the bell. "You'll stay and have some 
 tea with me, dear Mrs. Fiffer? do!'* 
 
 "It is very nice of you to ask me," Mrs. Fiffer 
 sat down again, "I really should like a cup; 
 but are you sure you are not expecting Mr. Wen- 
 dern back soon?" 
 
 168
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "No, not till to-morrow morning." 
 
 "Well, then, it won't matter if I stay. I always 
 think that when a man comes home from his 
 office an outside woman shouldn't be about; he 
 doesn't want to see one till he has put himself 
 into a good humour. Of course, his wife is differ- 
 ent; she should be there, except now and then, 
 just to let him find out that it isn't nearly as com- 
 fortable without her ' 
 
 "Oh, how wise you are, I shall remember that." 
 
 "Especially if he's a middle-aged man," Mrs. 
 Fiffer added again significantly. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick shook her head, and said with a 
 little laugh and almost a blush, "You are so 
 wicked." 
 
 "I wonder if you'd care to come in to-morrow 
 afternoon and see a box of hats we are expecting 
 over from Paris?" Mrs. Fiffer asked, when she had 
 finished her second cup. "It might amuse you 
 and, if you found one you liked very much, why, 
 you might be willing to let me make you a little 
 present?" 
 
 The answer came with alacrity, " It would be too 
 lovely. May I really?" 
 
 "I'll be delighted to see you." The kind 
 American was thinking that she would like to 
 make the little woman look nice for Mr. Parker. 
 "And, if it's really convenient, I'll expect you at 
 
 169
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 four o'clock," she said; "then we shall get a good 
 look at them before Katherine arrives." The 
 clock struck six as she left the house. 
 
 Wendern, standing by Frensham Pond, was say- 
 ing to himself, "Twenty-four hours more and I 
 shall see her." 
 
 170
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE morning-room was empty the next after- 
 noon the day that Katherine was coming 
 back when Rogers, hesitating and doubtful, 
 showed in a big good-tempered-looking man, dark, 
 quick-eyed, and sleek. 
 
 "Ah, a charming room, but there's nobody 
 here," he said. 
 
 Rogers looked at him again. The day had been 
 an eventful one in the household; for downstairs 
 there was the catastrophe that had long been loom- 
 ing, and he was prepared for anything; but in 
 spite of a very considerable experience he was un- 
 able to make up his mind whether this visitor, with 
 the pleasant confident air, was a dun or not. " Mr. 
 Wendern will probably be in soon," he said in a 
 fencing tone, anxious not to give his master away 
 if he could help it. 
 
 "Tell him that Mr. Christopher Lant is waiting 
 to see him." 
 
 "A friend, may I ask?" 
 
 "A friend," the other answered promptly, 
 "a very old friend."
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Rogers was visibly cheered up, and his manners 
 improved. "He's certain to be in directly, sir. 
 I thought Mrs. Berwick was here." 
 
 "Mrs. Berwick who's she?" 
 
 "Lady-housekeeper, sir, she's probably gone 
 across the garden to Mrs. FifFer's the window is 
 open and I see the key's gone," he had looked for 
 it on the writing-table. 
 
 "Fiffer, Mrs. J. B. Fiffer of New York?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. Mrs. and Miss Fiffer live at one of 
 those houses, also called Princes Gate, sir, that go 
 down Exhibition Road away from the Park. The 
 garden belongs to all the houses. " He was proud 
 of the superior position of the one he was in. 
 
 "Of course. No doubt Miss FirFer comes to see 
 Mrs. Berwick sometimes?" 
 
 "Very often, sir, and Mrs. Fiffer too; they're 
 great friends of Mr. Wendern's. " 
 
 "I see," Lant turned away with a smile of satis- 
 faction. When he was alone he went round the 
 room, quick and alert, "Miss Fiffer!" he chuckled. 
 He sat down, and appeared to value in his own 
 mind each separate piece of furniture. Presently, 
 for his ears were very acute, he cocked his head 
 and listened, then quickly took up "The Morning 
 Post," and was deep in it when Rogers re-entered 
 and arranged a little table. The striking of a 
 match seemed to startle him. "You needn't 
 
 172
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 light the lamp," he said blandly, "I don't drink 
 tea." 
 
 "Thank you, sir." Rogers discreetly vanished. 
 
 Lant let the paper rest on his knees and surveyed 
 the room again, smiling as if satisfied with him- 
 self and the world. "Very comfortable indeed; 
 what with the lady-housekeeper and Miss Fiffer 
 over the way," he gave another chuckle, "couldn't 
 be better, in fact. It's a wonderful thing how this 
 world has turned top to bottom. Wendern, dear 
 chap, would have been a duke, if he hadn't made 
 the mistake of being born in the colonies; and a 
 good many of us had not had the privilege of 
 sitting down in a room of this sort five-and-twenty 
 years ago. We've made the haughty ones whistle; 
 I wonder what they think of Park Lane since 
 South Africa, and the Canadian lumber trade, 
 and a Land Syndicate or two, took it in hand " 
 He stopped and listened again. "The worst of 
 these mansions is that you are generally too far 
 off to hear the latch-key put deftly into the front 
 door there's a good deal of unnecessary solem- 
 nity left about the upper class. " 
 
 The next moment Wendern entered. Lant went 
 forward quickly. "Dear chappie," he said, "how 
 are you?" 
 
 The tone that answered him was not cordial. 
 "When did you arrive?" 
 
 173
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "An hour ago. We motored to Havre immedi- 
 ately on getting your telegram yesterday morning. " 
 
 Wendern noticed the "we" but made no com- 
 ment. "Havre?" 
 
 "Havre and crossed in the yacht to South- 
 ampton. But the railway company, like every- 
 thing else in this country now, truckles to the 
 democracy and only puts on its trains at hours that 
 will suit its business population." He was evi- 
 dently talking to cover the awkwardness of Wen- 
 dern's greeting. "In the good times that are gone 
 they would have had trains awaiting the conven- 
 ience of yacht-owners. However, luckily there 
 was lunch to fill in time I'm told it's correct 
 to say luncheon now and a train came along at 
 the end of it. You were evidently in a great hurry 
 to see me, so I thought I had better hurry here at 
 once." 
 
 "You ought to have come a week ago. " Wen- 
 dern sat down and faced him. 
 
 "Paris, and Naples before it, what could you 
 expect?" Lant waited a moment. "You seemed 
 to think we ought to do something in Great St. 
 Helens to keep them quiet? Curious people 
 shareholders. " 
 
 There was no answer. Wendern's thoughts had 
 gone back to the clearing and the little procession 
 across it, with Lant in undisguised grief. He had 
 
 174
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 been an alert, underfed-looking man then, with 
 an appealing look in his dark eyes an appeal to 
 the world to be generous to him. It had been an- 
 swered, and he had changed: the alertness was 
 there still, but the look in his eyes was triumphant; 
 the mouth closed more firmly, the manner was 
 pleasant but overbearing. 
 
 "We will arrange a few details for the meeting," 
 he said, puzzled at Wendern's silence. "Then I 
 can get back to Southampton. I don't want to 
 be in London longer than is necessary. " 
 
 "You must make things clear about the Syndi- 
 cate they have been getting unpleasant." 
 
 "You should have tempered the wind to the 
 shorn lambs, " Lant said smilingly. 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "What I say." 
 
 "You wired to Derbyshire that it was doing 
 brilliantly?" 
 
 "Of course " 
 
 "Why did your reports cease?" 
 
 "There weren't any to send." 
 
 "You could have sent some account of the prog- 
 ress of the railway. You said a year ago that 
 it was nearly completed. " 
 
 "No, dear chappie only marked out." 
 
 "You sent photographs of the line." 
 
 "Of what it would be rather well done, 
 
 175
 
 George Wendern 
 
 weren't they ? Is there a whisky-and-soda about 
 the place?" 
 
 Wendern rang the bell impatiently and waited 
 till his visitor had helped himself copiously. 
 
 "There are all sorts of rumours in the city," 
 he said, "that you bought the Estates for a song, 
 not for the 50,000 you professed to pay, that 
 they are worth nothing, that the shareholders will 
 lose their money. " 
 
 "Quite so," Lant chuckled, "these things are 
 always said of this sort of undertaking, and oc- 
 casionally they are true. Of course I got the Es- 
 tates for a smaller sum than appeared on the pros- 
 pectus, but my business capacity deserved its 
 reward. As for their being worth nothing, when 
 more money has been spent on them why, they 
 will represent it. You can't have wool without 
 sheep." 
 
 "Is the thing a swindle?" 
 
 "No, dear chappie, it's a Syndicate. Let us 
 be serious. I came over here and saw that Lon- 
 don had more money than was good for it; that 
 it spent too much on eating and drinking and enter- 
 taining in fact, that it was becoming apoplectic. 
 I felt that a little blood-letting would be an ex- 
 cellent remedy for some of the criminalities of 
 modern life, ever heard the popular preachers go 
 for them, or read the lady novelists?" 
 
 176
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "No," impatiently. 
 
 "I always do. They indicate the direction of 
 the wind. I was bored in country-houses, shocked 
 at the inanities of the men, the extravagance of 
 the women, the devotion to Bridge, the repletion 
 of people, chiefly of those who had made money 
 [too quickly it often has a curiously ill effect. 
 I felt myself to be an apostle of an excellent move- 
 ment that goes about expressing itself in joint- 
 stock companies with one-pound shares. I said 
 to myself, * A little Syndicate is an excellent exer- 
 cise,' or shall we say discipline? I saw that 
 anything you backed would go down, or rather up 
 and remembered the Bangor Estates. Luckily 
 for us, rubber had not yet developed into a boom. 
 I say luckily, for two shillings is a trivial sum for a 
 share." He took some more whisky. Wendern 
 was silent and he went on, "Still our next move 
 might be in the rubber direction; I have my eye 
 on a little-known island somewhere let us say be- 
 tween Sumatra and Borneo; the bloodhounds, by 
 which I mean the gold-hounds, have not spotted it. 
 If our present deal fails we might fall back on it." 
 
 "Do you mean to say that the Estates are 
 worthless ? " 
 
 "Not at all; they cover an enormous area, and 
 were said to have resources see our prospectus. 
 They only require a few thousands to develop 
 
 177
 
 George Wendern 
 
 them, a railway to the coast two hundred miles 
 away inducements to settlers ' 
 
 "What have you done with the money that was 
 subscribed for working expenses?" 
 
 "We have run up some shanties, marked out a 
 couple of roads and a railway, indicated a possible 
 gold mine for anything is possible in this world, 
 and while there's life there's hope agreed on the 
 site of a new township, constructed some photo- 
 graphs that traction-engine looked very well, 
 didn't it? we brought it five hundred miles 
 sent out a great deal of printed matter, and we are 
 waiting for more money. There is none to go on 
 with." 
 
 Wendern was losing his temper. "Would you 
 be good enough to tell me something about the 
 Directors over there?" he asked. 
 
 "No," Lant answered softly. "For, let us 
 indulge in the luxury of truth, there is nothing 
 to tell. They gave us the use of their names. 
 They had nothing else to give nothing at 
 all." 
 
 "It seems to me that you are no better than a 
 thief." Wendern had risen to his feet; he was 
 calm, but he looked dangerous. 
 
 Lant saw it and was amused. "Go gently, 
 sonnie, go gently," he said, and took some more 
 whisky. 
 
 178
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Do you know what this means?" 
 
 "Of course. I paved the way for it and wired to 
 some of the important shareholders, and one or 
 two Directors of the Derbyshire type, that the 
 Syndicate was doing brilliantly. I told them that 
 I should be at the Grosvenor Hotel immediately 
 you remember what I said last time about the Carl- 
 ton, dear chappie, too frivolous for serious-minded 
 people like ourselves, our our clients will ap- 
 preciate the change, and be delighted to hear that 
 we're going to reconstruct. The new shares will 
 be credited with 155. paid." 
 
 "We shall do nothing of the sort," Wendern 
 said firmly, "and the whole thing shall be ex- 
 posed." 
 
 Lant went to the wide-open French window and 
 closed it. "I never like my left-hand neighbour 
 to know what my right hand is doing," he said; 
 then his tone changed. "Now, it's time we talked 
 plainly. Syndicates are made every day in the 
 week; people speculate and lose their money, make 
 more, and lose it again. Don't be a fool, George. 
 I had the cream off the last deal, we'll reconstruct 
 and you shall have the cream off this one or the 
 larger share." 
 
 "There won't be any more cream. I'll take care 
 of that. The thing shall be wound up. " 
 
 "That would be awkward for you as Managing 
 179
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Director," Lant said suavely, "especially at the 
 present moment. You are on the point of getting 
 out of the Derryford lawsuit, it will be decided in 
 a few days " 
 
 "Next week. It has dragged on longer than 
 was expected." 
 
 "Next week, at any rate, and a large fortune 
 will then be at your disposal." 
 
 "It may go against me." 
 
 "It can't. And there's Miss Fiffer, and her 
 millions. " 
 
 Wendern looked up quickly. "What do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 "I mean Miss Fiffer. Like the rest of her sex, 
 she has probably succumbed to your fascinations." 
 
 "Be good enough not to speak of her " 
 
 "I won't, dear chappie, since it vexes you. I 
 merely mentioned her name, together with the 
 Dock business, to show you that to make a scandal 
 of so trifling a matter as the Bangor Syndicate 
 would be cutting off your nose to spite your face. " 
 
 "There are not only rich people in this thing but 
 others; some of them came to the office yesterday, 
 in that deputation, who have risked all they have 
 in the world. " 
 
 "The recklessness of such people ought to be 
 checked." 
 
 "Many of them took shares, not merely on your 
 1 80
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 representation, but because my name was an hon- 
 ourable one." 
 
 "A priceless possession ' 
 
 "We've known each other twenty years," 
 Wendern said slowly, "and lately I have been try- 
 ing hard to believe that you are not a scoundrel. " 
 
 "Quite right, I'm not one," Lant answered. 
 "I've a sense of humour and no sentiment." 
 Then his manner changed again, and this time 
 there came into it a human quality that had be- 
 guiled many in that late summer when he first 
 introduced the Syndicate. "But if I've no senti- 
 ment," he went on, "I don't forget that a good 
 many years ago we stood together by poor Loo's 
 deathbed," he took a gulp from the glass on the 
 table, "you were more to her than you ever im- 
 agined; no fault of yours, George, I know that, I 
 don't suppose you ever dreamt it, and I believe 
 that what you did you did for me. " 
 
 " I did, " Wendern said, almost to himself. " She 
 was an angel to you, Kit. " It was the first time 
 he had called him by the old name. 
 
 Lant nodded. "After she'd gone, a year or 
 two, wasn't it? you lent me that 15,000." 
 
 "I was glad to do it." 
 
 " It worked like a charm. Everything I touched 
 afterwards turned to gold." 
 
 "Then, by the memory of her dead face and 
 181
 
 George Wendern 
 
 of any way in which you imagine I helped you 
 afterwards don't let the poor devils in this thing 
 suffer. Some of them are very poor. " 
 
 There was a pause, in which the old memories 
 that had rushed back seemed to slip away from 
 Lant. He looked up with a smile. "Some of 
 them are very fat, and live in well-feathered nests." 
 
 Rogers entered with a letter on a tray. 
 
 "Take it away," Wendern said impatiently. 
 It was only a dun, he thought. 
 
 "It came by hand, sir, and it's marked 'imme- 
 diate.'" 
 
 "Oh ! I'll ring if there's an answer. " He opened 
 the envelope mechanically, a slip of paper fell from 
 it; he picked it up and his expression changed as 
 he read the letter. "What a good' chap. A man 
 I lent 500 to, some years ago, has returned it; 
 the first opportunity he has had, he says." 
 
 "Curious thing to do." Lant took some more 
 whisky. 
 
 "To you, perhaps," Wendern said, with a little 
 contemptuous movement. 
 
 "You are trying to insult me, but I have an ex- 
 cellent temper, dear chappie. Now then, we won't 
 talk any more nonsense, for I want to get away, as 
 I have mentioned already the Briar Rose is in 
 Southampton Water pretty name, eh? a pretty 
 little woman christened her, she's on board and 
 
 182
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 wants to be taken round the Isle of Wight. The 
 General Meeting takes place this day week. I 
 hope notices have been sent? Thursday, I think 
 we said, at 12.30?" 
 
 "Do you mean to tell them the truth?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then I will. One of the men said yesterday 
 that this sort of thing ought to be a capital offence, 
 and he was right. We deserve to be strung up, 
 both of us you for a knave and I for a fool." 
 
 "But then we couldn't pull each other's legs, 
 dear chappie." 
 
 "Why, even Dawson is in it for 250." 
 
 "The reconstruction will only cost him 62, 
 108." 
 
 "It shan't be done." 
 
 "Then give them their money back." 
 
 "Give them their money back!" Wendern 
 exclaimed. "I'm broke with the rest, and have 
 nothing but a large over-draft at the bank. " 
 
 "As soon as the Derryford Dock case is finished 
 you will be almost a millionaire again, for I know 
 that you have other contingencies waiting. The 
 verdict will be cabled over, it's quite remark- 
 able how much interest they take in the case even 
 here, and within an hour your bankers will cash 
 your cheques for any amount you please." 
 
 "And if it goes against me or drags on " 
 
 183
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "One moment, there's a lady at the window. 
 Miss Fiffer? No; Mrs. Berwick, I should say, 
 judging from appearances. " 
 
 She was looking through the glass, embarrassed 
 at seeing Lant, and carrying a new hat. Lant 
 opened the window and made his best bow. He 
 evidently enjoyed the little incident. 
 
 "Oh, I'm so sorry," Mrs. Berwick said as she 
 stepped into the room. "I'm interrupting you. I 
 didn't know you were back, Mr. Wendern. " 
 
 "Pray, don't apologise." Lant carefully shut 
 the window again. "I'm only his old friend, 
 Christopher Lant. " 
 
 "I've heard so much about you." She held 
 out her hand. 
 
 He gave a little laugh and looked into her eyes. 
 "I'm sure of it. What a delightful hat, if I may 
 venture to say so." 
 
 She turned to Wendern and explained. "I 
 went to Mrs. Fiffer's; she had a box of them just 
 over from Paris, and insisted on giving me this 
 one." 
 
 "A delightful one, as Lant says." Wendern 
 tried to hide his impatience. 
 
 "Mrs. Fiffer thought that perhaps you would 
 go over to tea presently," she went on. "Miss 
 Fiffer is back earlier than she expected. I didn't 
 see her; she had only just arrived. And I know 
 
 184
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 they'd be delighted to see any friend of yours," she 
 added, and looked at Lant with a smile as she went 
 towards the door. "Do forgive me for interrupt- 
 ing your talk. I didn't know any one was here. " 
 
 Lant opened the door for her. "And you want 
 to try on the hat again," he said. 
 
 "Perhaps I do," she said archly, though some- 
 how he reminded her of Mephistopheles. "I hope 
 we shall meet again, Mr. Lant." 
 
 "I hope so," he sighed as he shut the door. 
 "Nice woman," he said, turning to Wendern, 
 "lies so easily wonder where you picked her up; 
 but I mustn't keep you from Miss Fiffer. I see 
 that everything will be well; she's expecting 
 you. And I'm off to the country till Wednesday 
 night, when I shall return for the meeting on 
 Thursday. " 
 
 "It won't take place. I shall oppose it." 
 
 "Are you mad?" 
 
 "No, for the moment I am sane." 
 
 Lant turned sharply. "Face it," he said. 
 "Unless we reconstruct there'll be the deuce of a 
 row, and a few strange proceedings will follow. 
 There are some poor devils in this thing, as you 
 say, but some others have come in, not originally 
 but lately, who are not poor. They'll like getting 
 their knife into us, and won't grudge the expense 
 of having it sharpened. " 
 
 185
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Reconstruction will only delay it." 
 
 "It will give us time, and time coins more 
 money than a mint if it is properly used. You 
 shall use the money, and I'll use the time. Then, 
 what with the lawsuit and the lady" Wendern 
 made an impatient gesture, "very well, then, 
 we'll say the lawsuit, you will be pretty comfort- 
 able." 
 
 "And the shareholders will be plundered again 
 in trying to save what they have already lost. " 
 
 "They'll never speculate any more. You under- 
 rate experience, dear chappie. Experience is the 
 most valuable thing in the world. Hardly any 
 price is too dear to pay for it." 
 
 "It shan't be done. I shall oppose the recon- 
 struction and face the music." 
 
 "Then the poor devils will lose all their money. 
 The shares are only worth 8s. 6d. to-day; though, 
 as they have no official quotation, the simpletons 
 don't know it, the others do. Think what you 
 are doing. Some of the shareholders are not 
 pretty, and will rather like making a noise. On 
 the other hand, we can put a very tidy re- 
 construction scheme before them. I have it 
 ready. " 
 
 A sudden idea struck Wendern. "Look here, 
 Lant," he said, "take up the small holdings the 
 widows and parsons and petty clerks, Dawson and 
 
 1 86
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 the rest give them back their money now, at 
 once, and I'll not oppose the reconstruction next 
 week. It will cost you well under 15,000. I am 
 only asking you to do this for the people who can't 
 afford to lose; the others live, as you say, in well- 
 feathered nests: let them pay for their impru- 
 dence. If the Dock case is decided in my favour, 
 I'll pay off all those I am responsible for myself, or 
 be an accomplice." 
 
 There was a long pause. Many different ex- 
 pressions flitted across Lant's face. The one it 
 wore when he answered was kindly. "Well," he 
 said slowly, "I'll do it just to please you." 
 
 "Promise give me your word." 
 
 "All right. I give you my word. I'll write 
 to Dawson to-night to send them transfers. They 
 shall get their cheques before the meeting on 
 Thursday. Will that do?" He looked at his 
 watch. "I mustn't stay any longer." 
 
 Wendern gave a gasp of relief. "You have 
 taken a great load off my mind," he said. "The 
 Dock case is certain to be decided before the meet- 
 ing; the moment it is, those I brought in, rich or 
 poor, shall get out too, scot-free. And even if 
 I can't do it, as I say, I won't oppose the recon- 
 struction scheme." 
 
 Then Lant was satisfied. "Good," he said, 
 and went towards the door; the pleasant expres- 
 
 187
 
 George Wendern 
 
 sion was still on his face, his voice was cordial and 
 genuine. "Look here, Wendern," he hesitated, 
 and considered, "we're old pals and I'm pretty 
 comfortable thanks to you in the beginning. I 
 can put 10,000 at your disposal if you want it 
 but you won't. Tell me on Wednesday; I shall 
 be at the Grosvenor between five and six o'clock. 
 Come to me there, if you don't mind, I shan't 
 have time to get here. The little woman will be 
 with me, she'll figure in the highly respectable 
 hotel books as Mrs. Lant, and I must take her 
 out to dinner and the play that night. " 
 
 "You mean you would lend it to me?" Wen- 
 dern stared at him in surprise. 
 
 "Yes. A pal's a pal, dear chappie." 
 
 "If the lawsuit goes against me?" 
 
 Lant nodded, "All the same, if the lawsuit goes 
 against you, but it won't. The money shall be 
 at your disposal. This house smells of orange 
 blossom, I noticed it as I entered coming events 
 casting their perfume before, perhaps?" 
 
 "There are some trees in the conservatory, I'll 
 show them to you," Wendern answered. "Lant, 
 if you really mean what you say about that 
 10,000 if you will advance it, then, whatever 
 happens, I will arrange to pay off the shareholders 
 who came into the Syndicate on the strength of 
 my name all of them it will be enough. " 
 
 188
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Waste of money, dear chappie, but by all 
 means if it pleases you." 
 
 "Can you let me have it immediately?" 
 
 Lant considered a moment. "You shall have 
 it next Wednesday when you come to the Gros- 
 venor; we'll have our final talk before the meeting 
 at the same time. But you may rely on it, and 
 can set the thing going at once, have the transfers 
 filled in if you really mean to encourage these 
 foolish people in gambling." 
 
 "Good-bye," Wendern laughed and held out 
 his hand cordially. 
 
 It was just ten minutes to six and Katherine 
 had returned. The way was clear. At the lonely 
 little hotel at Farnham, in the quiet night he 
 had stood looking over the ponds, and told him- 
 self that between him and her there stood a crowd 
 of people who had been led into loss, some of them 
 into ruin, through his carelessness and folly. 
 ISow they had stepped aside and he could go to 
 her. Lant would pay off the little shareholders 
 and, come what would, whichever way the lawsuit 
 went, those who had come into the Syndicate on 
 the strength of the London manager's name would 
 be paid off on Wednesday night; they would have 
 no part, no stake, in the meeting on Thursday. 
 The way was clear.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 IN the drawing-room at Mrs. Fiffer's the usual 
 tea business was going on. Lord Derbyshire 
 appeared soon after Katherine arrived, but she 
 took no notice of him; she sat in a corner of the 
 canvas-sheltered balcony and seemed deaf to 
 everything in the room beside her. Her face was 
 turned towards the end of Exhibition Road; she 
 could see the hurrying traffic along the main road, 
 the cabs going in and out Alexandra Gate and the 
 trees beyond. Round the corner, on the right, was 
 Wendern's house, she was conscious of it every 
 moment. Presently Derbyshire went to the bal- 
 cony; it seemed to worry her. 
 
 "Go away," she said, "I want to be left alone." 
 It was half a snub, half an entreaty. "I can't 
 talk please go. " 
 
 He hesitated a moment, "All right," he said, 
 "I understand. I feel a bit awkward myself, as 
 if something was the matter, you know." 
 
 Something was evidently the matter with Mrs. 
 Fiffer; a little group of visitors had dropped in, 
 they irritated her, she wanted to get rid of them 
 in order to talk to Katherine and perhaps to Derby- 
 
 190
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 shire. At last she remembered a picture in her 
 boudoir, the boudoir that she looked upon as 
 merely a foolish little sitting-room, a worry to use, 
 and containing a great many unnecessary things 
 which the housemaid spent a long time in dusting. 
 
 "I think you said you had to go pretty soon, 
 Lady Carter-Leigh?" she said with a smile, to 
 cover her artfulness. "Now, I'd like, if you don't 
 mind, to ask your opinion of one or two little 
 things I bought at Christie's last week, daresay 
 you'd all like to come?" she looked at the others. 
 "There's a picture, and an old crystal jug with a 
 metal stand to it don't know why it has it, I'm 
 sure. Perhaps you'd be able to tell me if it's a 
 curiosity, I can't guess; but I'd like to know 
 what you think." In a moment she had swept 
 her callers away, and she had not the least inten- 
 tion of letting them re-enter the drawing-room 
 that afternoon. 
 
 When they were alone Derbyshire went towards 
 Katherine again. "I say, those Johnnies have all 
 gone," he said; "won't you talk to me now?" 
 
 She got up and looked at him bewildered, as if 
 trying to remember who he was and why he was 
 there. "I want you to ring the bell," she said. 
 
 "Oh, all right funny thing to do thought we 
 were going to have a little time together perhaps?" 
 
 She took no notice, but went back to the 
 191
 
 George Wendern 
 
 deserted room, and spoke to the servant. "Mr. 
 Wendern will be here immediately," she said; 
 "show him into the library, and tell me when he 
 comes. " 
 
 "Yes, Miss." 
 
 "Oh, I say," put in Derbyshire, "why shouldn't 
 he be shown up?" 
 
 "I want to see him alone; I am going down in a 
 minute to wait for him." 
 
 "Well, I say, but you know things are different 
 now. Has there been anything I mean why 
 should you want to see Wendern alone?" 
 
 She waited a minute, and when she answered 
 her voice was sweet, but very firm. "We may 
 as well settle things at once, Lord Derbyshire " 
 
 "But you're not going to call me Lord Derby- 
 shire any longer, are you?" 
 
 She shook her head impatiently as if it were too 
 trivial a question to consider "America is a free 
 country," she went on, "and I come from it. 
 Over there women have their friends men friends 
 as well as women friends and I must have mine 
 if I am to live over here; you must understand 
 that and not worry me. I'm going down to see 
 George Wendern. You had better stay here and 
 have a talk with mother she is longing for it; 
 she was taken by surprise, and before she could say 
 anything those people came." 
 
 192
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "All right." 
 
 "Then you must go away; you are dining here 
 to-night, and we shall meet." A clock on the 
 mantelpiece struck with a silvery sound. "It 
 is time," she said. "I told Mr. Wendern to come 
 at six, and he is always punctual. Ask mother 
 to come down to the library to me at half-past; 
 say I want her to come." 
 
 "All right," he said again, with his foolish little 
 laugh, "I'll do as I'm told; I always take a hint 
 if it's large enough to see pleases people, you 
 know; and I want to please you more than any one 
 else. " He shut the door ceremoniously after her, 
 came back to the middle of the room and paused. 
 "Awfully nice girl," he thought, "but well, 
 I'm jiggered." 
 
 Half-way down she pulled up with a gesture of 
 despair, but there was a flush on her face, and 
 something like a smile, a sorry frightened one, 
 came to her lips, as with head erect she entered the 
 library. Wendern was standing in the middle of 
 the room. He went forward as if to take her in 
 his arms. "Katherine Katherine, my dear ' 
 
 She held out her hands to keep him off; the 
 dazed look that had been on her face on the balcony 
 returned, but she recovered quickly. "I thought 
 we might talk here by ourselves," she said. 
 
 He looked at her doubtfully before he answered. 
 "It's what I've been wishing for waiting for," 
 
 193
 
 George Wendern 
 
 but for the life of him he couldn't make another 
 movement till she had spoken again. They stood 
 looking at each other. He knew that she was 
 gathering courage to speak, and waited till it came. 
 
 "I've been thinking of the other night at 
 Brighton." Each word seemed to be ground out 
 of her, though her manner was composed. She 
 raised her eyes and met his without flinching. 
 
 "I have thought of it every hour since," he 
 answered slowly. "I shall remember your face 
 looking down at the sea and up at the stars, that 
 came out twinkling as if asking whether they were 
 too soon, as long as I live." 
 
 "I said some things I oughtn't to have said. 
 I wish I hadn't that we hadn't taken that walk. " 
 
 "Why? Wern't they true?" 
 
 "If they were it makes no difference. I wanted 
 you to come to-day to tell you " her head 
 drooped, a break was in her voice, "I don't feel 
 as if I can " 
 
 "Katherine beloved, what is the matter?" He 
 went up to her then and tried to put his arms round 
 her. She held him off with a movement that was 
 almost one of distress. The flush on her face 
 deepened. 
 
 "No," she said, "you mustn't. I want to tell 
 you ' she stopped again. 
 
 "I want to tell you," he said passionately, "but 
 194
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 you know it, that I love you I love you. Why 
 won't you let me say it? you are more beautiful 
 than ever with that colour in your face," he 
 bent over her perplexed and wondering. "I 
 didn't think any woman in the world could take 
 my life into her hands as you have done. " 
 
 "You mustn't say it. That's why I sent for 
 you, I wouldn't let any one else tell you. I'm en- 
 gaged to Lord Derbyshire." She staggered to a 
 seat and sat down, waiting for him to speak. 
 
 "When did it happen?" he asked calmly. 
 
 "Yesterday afternoon he telegraphed early 
 that he was coming, that was why I stayed on." 
 
 "I saw him yesterday. I expect he was hurry- 
 ing off then. Had you made up your mind when 
 I came the other day?" 
 
 She shook her head. "After you'd gone I 
 thought it all out I told you I had to do that. " 
 
 "Yes. But I don't understand yet?" 
 
 "You see you belong to a New World too, and 
 I should have expected that you would care, as I 
 do, r for the things they have here the things that 
 haven't had time to grow up over there we come 
 for them we want them and worship them;" 
 the last words were said in a low tone, as if they 
 were a plea for mercy. 
 
 He looked at her again, his voice was cynical 
 as he answered. "Let's face it squarely. I love 
 
 195
 
 George Wendern 
 
 you, and you know it. The other night, when we 
 stood together on that white road looking down 
 at the sea " 
 
 "The sound of it has been in my ears ever 
 since," she said forlornly. 
 
 "There's nothing so wise in creation it knows 
 all the eternal truths and was whispering them 
 to us that's why I felt that you loved me; per- 
 haps I was a conceited ass, but I could have sworn 
 it," he waited, but she made no answer. "And 
 as I motored back, all the way along the road I 
 could see your face beside me and hear your voice, 
 as I'd seen it and heard it an hour before. But 
 you were thinking of Derbyshire, and planning to 
 take him for the things he has, the things of the 
 Old World that I can't give you?" 
 
 She raised her head defiantly. "American girls 
 come over and marry for them. I used to think 
 it was just vanity, but it isn't. I've thought it 
 all out. Father went on piling up money, but he 
 could only spend it on a house near Central Park, 
 and a summer one on Long Island, and carriages, 
 and diamonds newly come from Kimberley " 
 
 "Didn't they satisfy him?" 
 
 "Why, yes, well enough but he wanted more 
 he thought I should get it for him. You see they 
 didn't give him a name written in Domesday 
 Book, and family castles, and armour in which his 
 
 196
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 ancestors had gone to battle. We haven't got any- 
 thing of that sort. They have here; but their best 
 things are going to ruin, they'll crumble away if 
 something isn't done, and the country will forget 
 everything that's made it what it is, and helped 
 to fill Westminster Abbey " 
 
 "But what, in Heaven's name, has all this to 
 do with you?" 
 
 "That's where I come in don't you think it'll 
 be splendid to pull together an old family like 
 Lord Derbyshire's?" Her voice was proud, but 
 her eyes looked almost scared. 
 
 "Good Lord!" he said, as if in a dream. 
 
 "He hasn't a penny to spend because of the 
 mortgages on his property. He told mother that 
 his fences were dropping to bits, and he can't do 
 any of the things he ought for his tenants. He 
 has a castle that'll fall if money isn't spent on it. 
 It has dungeons, and a moat, and secret doors, 
 and all the things one reads of in history and ro- 
 mance; but that we'll never have in America as 
 long as we live. If something doesn't happen his 
 name will be dragged down with his castle, he'll 
 have to go into trade or something. " 
 
 "Well? Why shouldn't he?" 
 
 "It must be pretty bad to do that when you've 
 ancestors who went to the Crusades. No one 
 who has family pictures and armour at first-hand 
 
 197
 
 George Wendern 
 
 ought to be allowed to do anything that is common. 
 My money will set the whole thing right it'll 
 set a little bit of this beautiful, wonderful country 
 right the peasants will come back to live on the 
 land, and we'll be there to do things for them, to 
 make them content as they used to be centuries 
 ago " she stopped as if her courage had given out, 
 and waited for him to speak. 
 
 Taken aback by the whole argument, he stood 
 staring at her. "It all seems highly poetical, 
 no doubt," he said at last. "And Derbyshire 
 himself, how does he come into the picture?" 
 
 "When he's rich again and among the right 
 people he'll be the real thing once more " 
 
 "In fact, you are going to marry him in order 
 to do up his property and make him solvent; and 
 you imagine that he'll turn into a noble of the 
 olden time again?" 
 
 "Perhaps." There seemed to be an entreaty 
 in her voice when she went on, not to make a 
 sorry joke of what was deadly earnest to her. 
 " But it isn't for him, it is for what he represents. 
 If you and I married, no one would be the better 
 for it but our two selves; besides, what good then 
 would the money be that father spent all those 
 years piling up? I want to do my very best 
 by it by all the years of his work that it repre- 
 sents to weave it in with the history and poetry 
 
 198
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 over here, the things that are beautiful and pictu- 
 resque, and a part of England itself, the real Eng- 
 land that was, before it was spoilt by shoddy rich 
 people who have no sense of what they ought to 
 do with money; I have a sense I'll spend it prop- 
 erly. " Her voice was passionate; it was impossible 
 to help feeling how keenly she had thought it out. 
 
 "You are not in love with him?" 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 "And Derbyshire is he in love with you?" 
 
 "He likes me well enough and he's doing the 
 right thing, as I am. Surely you know how it is 
 with all us Americans who come over and marry 
 aristocrats or aristocrats who go over there and 
 marry us; we know well enough what we're doing, 
 and so do they we don't make any mistake 
 about it; but we each give the other a good deal. 
 I feel I'm putting father's money to the right use. 
 Why, his name will have to be in Debrett and a 
 dozen other places where nothing else in the world 
 could put it. I should be wicked just to think of 
 myself. " 
 
 "A good many of your countrywomen have done 
 what you are going to do, and rather enjoy it. " 
 
 "You don't suppose they've done it for love of 
 the men, do you? They've done it for the same 
 reason that I'm going to do it and it isn't all 
 unselfishness don't think that." 
 
 199
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "I don't. You want to be a peeress, I sup- 
 pose. Your money and Derbyshire will make 
 you one " 
 
 "But he couldn't go on unless something was 
 done, and that old house prevented from falling 
 to bits," she urged, as if she thought he would 
 come to see the point of her argument. 
 
 "Why didn't you ask Kenton the other night to 
 give him a few thousands?" 
 
 " He has a son of his own, why should he ? He 
 doesn't want to pull down one house to build up 
 another that perhaps isn't as old as his own I 
 don't know." She stopped for a moment. "You 
 think it vulgar of me, or 'snobby' as the English 
 people love to say. I heard it in your voice just 
 now when you said I wanted to be a peeress. I 
 do in a way, but it isn't snobby, or vulgar; it's 
 because being one is part of it part of the things 
 that are historical the things with which I want 
 to be identified. I don't want to go driving motor- 
 cars to Ascot and Ranelagh, to any of the places 
 where rich people go, or to give big dinners with 
 too much to eat, and big parties with people at 
 them I hardly know, or to lose money at cards; 
 I won't do any of the things that silly people 
 copied from us in the early days, for the right peo- 
 ple among us don't do them now, they were our 
 
 wild oats " 
 
 200
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "And had you forgotten all this the other 
 night?" 
 
 "Yes, I was forgetting I'll never forget again. " 
 
 There was a moment's silence. They stood fac- 
 ing each other, he still wonderstruck; she with 
 a wild light shining from her eyes, her hand at her 
 throat as if to steady her voice, and to force from 
 her lips all that with dogged determination she 
 mean't to say. She looked like a creature at bay, 
 half scared, but full of a strange courage that 
 helped her to forget the conflicting forces in her 
 heart. 
 
 At last Wendern spoke. "Well," he said, 
 "this is a strange sideway into Hell for me, the 
 worst turn that things have taken. I wonder 
 why it is I love you? For I do. I love you so 
 much that I'd like to throttle you as you stand 
 there and kiss you till you died. " 
 
 "I'd love you to do it," burst from her lips. 
 
 "Then in God's name be natural," he cried, 
 springing forward. "Let Derbyshire have your 
 money, every stiver of it, send it round to him 
 packed in American trunks, but let us be to- 
 gether; you love me, and you know it." 
 
 "Yes, I love you, and I know it but I'm going 
 to do what I say, if I die doing it. Besides, he 
 couldn't take it without me.'* 
 
 "Heiresses are plentiful enough. Let him patch 
 201
 
 George Wendern 
 
 up his castle and cultivate his land with some other 
 woman's fortune. Your father and mother mar- 
 ried because they loved each other man and 
 woman existed before castles and aristocrats, as 
 you call them, had been invented. Isn't that tra- 
 dition enough for you to carry on ? Do what you 
 like with your money, but let us go away together, 
 back to the New World and you shall be queen 
 of it " 
 
 "No " 
 
 "Yes yes!" the words rushed from him now 
 like a torrent. "We'll put up a shanty on the spot 
 where my father and mother were all the world 
 to each other when they were poor and couldn't 
 see four meals ahead. Let us be poor and live 
 there as they did, till we can build a palace and 
 buy a crown for you, my dear my dear who is a 
 fool, as all best loved women are fools " 
 
 "I believe I should be happier, I wish I were 
 a beggar." 
 
 "Be one, as perhaps I may. Let us go out 
 into the open, penniless together some day we'll 
 build the palace and store it with beautiful things 
 for all the world to see we shall be its wardens. " 
 
 "You are talking nonsense, George," she said 
 with a queer little smile, half tender, half longing. 
 
 Then suddenly he remembered. "Katherine," 
 he cried, "it's just possible that I shall be a beggar, 
 
 202
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 and soon soon, in sober truth." After all, the 
 lawsuit might fail; for the moment it seemed that 
 it would mean salvation to him. 
 
 "You?" 
 
 "If we went forth two beggars trudging along 
 the highway, or sitting by the wayside," she looked 
 at him in wonder, "we'd seek the magic way 
 and find it." 
 
 "The magic way?" 
 
 "The dream way. Along it are signposts point- 
 ing towards realities. " Wendern the idealist and 
 dreamer was -speaking now. 
 
 For a moment she hesitated, then with a gesture 
 of despair threw up her hands. "I mustn't," she 
 cried, "I mustn't. You come from a country, as 
 I do, where there's money, and ways to get it, but 
 nothing else; and, between us, what I owe my peo- 
 ple bars the way. I've got to do what I'm doing, 
 and you won't make me turn away. I feel it's 
 great. " 
 
 "Great! High God in heaven great!" Then 
 he was tender again. "Think what life might 
 be- 
 
 " I know well enough but I wouldn't be satis- 
 fied with myself; that's what you don't see. " 
 
 "Oh, yes! I see. And it hits me hard, as one's 
 virtues often do when they round on one, for I've 
 been thinking of the right use of money lately. " 
 
 203
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Yes yes that's what I mean, that's what 
 this will be. I want to help the world." 
 
 "My dear, you are a dreamer as I am." 
 
 "Yes, I am a dreamer too, and I mustn't wake; 
 I've got to dream it's waking that often brings 
 misery." She turned suddenly upon him with 
 "I want you to go; I can't bear it any longer 
 it's too much. I just beg you to go. Nothing 
 will alter it, nothing in the world. I don't mean 
 it to be altered, " she added in the dogged tone he 
 had heard before. It kept him at bay: a minute 
 ago he would have taken her in his arms at any 
 price, and kissed her a hundred times, feeling it to 
 be a death song. 
 
 He went a step backward. 
 
 "I want you to go," she said again; "my mother 
 will be here directly." Then, as if she were still 
 trying to make him see her point, she went on, in 
 a sad apologetic voice: " She has wanted me to do 
 this and it is great; you may scoff, but it is. I 
 am doing the right thing I want to say it again 
 I want you to feel it. The right thing by her and 
 my father. And I'm doing something for the 
 world, this dear Old World that we used to look 
 forward so much to seeing. I'm setting something 
 right in it. Some of us do right in one way, George 
 Wendern, and some in another." 
 
 He laughed out in an agony. "The world is 
 204
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 full of strange apostles to-day. An hour ago a man 
 was with me who talked of robbing people for their 
 good, as a cure for folly or worldliness, a man I had 
 known for years and had stood beside at the keen- 
 est moment of his life. And now you oh, my 
 God ! you, Katherine, have turned yourself into a 
 New World missionary who, against the dictates of 
 her own heart, is going out to help the pauper 
 lord; a sweet girl saint, who will have a coronet 
 for her head instead of a halo, a family estate and 
 liveried servants to wait upon her instead of the 
 man she loves beside her and his children about 
 her knees a girl saint who sacrifices herself for 
 what her money may do, and refuses to think of 
 what her womanhood means." 
 
 "Oh, don't, don't," she cried, and put her arms 
 across her eyes. 
 
 "This hour has swept away the best dream of 
 my life. But go and be my Lady Derbyshire, 
 and have your castle and your attendants, your 
 family diamonds that Kimberley never knew " 
 
 "Oh, how cruel you are or you are trying to 
 insult me?" 
 
 He softened then. "Yes, I am a brute, per- 
 haps," he said. "But think what life might be 
 if we were together!" 
 
 "I know," she said passionately, "I know well 
 enough, George. But I wouldn't be satisfied with 
 
 205
 
 George Wendern 
 
 myself; that's what you don't see. Hark, I think 
 mother is coming. " 
 
 He made a sound of derision. "Your mother- 
 yes, dear, your mother. " 
 
 The door opened and Mrs. Fiffer entered. She 
 hesitated and looked at him curiously, then turned 
 to her daughter and asked, "Have you told Mr. 
 Wendern the news?" 
 
 "Yes, I have told him," Katherine answered. 
 She was a little breathless; her arm rested on the 
 high back of a chair as if for support. 
 
 "And what do you think of it, Mr. Wendern?" 
 Mrs. Fiffer looked at him again. 
 
 "He's a good chap and deserves his luck 
 though it's colossal. " 
 
 "I'm glad you like him. What I think is that 
 he hasn't got any of the tricks of some of the young 
 men over here; and then he is poor. Katherine 
 would have felt she wasn't turning her money to 
 proper account if she married a rich man. " 
 
 "It's a fine idea." 
 
 "She was always full of ideas," Mrs. Fiffer an- 
 swered and beamed with satisfaction. "Now, 
 Mr. Wendern, I want you to tell Mrs. Berwick, if 
 you don't mind, that I didn't know it when I saw 
 her this afternoon, or she might think I was un- 
 friendly not to say anything. " 
 
 "I'll tell her." As if there was no more to say 
 206
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 he held out his hand to Mrs. Fiffer, looked round 
 at Katherine with a smile, and went. 
 
 "What did you say to him did he mind?" Mrs. 
 Fiffer asked. 
 
 Katherine was standing now with her arms 
 thrown up, her hands clasped behind her head; 
 she looked like a wild creature who had run a 
 race and was paying for it with life, and yet 
 knew that the victory had had to be gained at 
 any cost. She stared at her mother as if taken 
 by surprise. "Say," she panted, "what did I say? 
 I don't know but, mother mother," she seemed 
 to be stricken with despair, "all things have to 
 be paid for, and nothing so dearly as money." 
 
 "As money?" 
 
 "Yes." She shut her eyes and shivered for 
 a moment as if with pain, "It's paid for with life 
 and hope and love. But you don't understand, 
 mother dear, you forget. Go upstairs," she 
 added gently, "I've done what you wish. I've 
 done my duty to father's money. Go upstairs 
 and be satisfied." 
 
 "Well, but " 
 
 "Go, mother dear," she entreated, "I must be 
 alone, I must indeed." She kissed the shrewd, 
 kindly face before she closed the door. Mrs. 
 Fiffer heard it softly locked. 
 
 Then Katherine threw herself down, and rose 
 207
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 again and walked to and fro, and had it out with 
 herself. "It's done, it's done, but oh! the misery 
 of it," she moaned; "and George Wendern 
 George Wendern, I love you, I love you and want 
 to be yours a beggar, a thief, anything in the 
 world, if only I be yours. This is where your 
 arms went where your hands were clasped when 
 they held me," she rested her face down on her 
 sleeve, "Oh, George Wendern, I'm a fool, a 
 fool, and yet what I'm doing is right. You will 
 never dream what it costs me, you will never be- 
 lieve; but it must be right, it must be fine, it 
 is, it is as it's fine sometimes for people to let 
 themselves be put on the rack. I'm on the rack 
 now, but I won't flinch. I'll go through with it 
 but I love you, love you, George Wendern. " 
 
 There was a loud knock at the street door; she 
 heard it, though the library was far down the hall. 
 Lord Derbyshire had come. 
 
 208
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 IT was significant that Wendern left the Fiffer's 
 house by the front door. The days of com- 
 munication between the garden ways were over. 
 
 He let himself in by a latch-key and went to the 
 morning-room. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick was sitting by the writing-table, 
 her attitude vaguely struck him as woe-begone. 
 She looked up as he entered, half-startled, "Oh, 
 Mr. Wendern, I thought you had gone to Mrs. 
 Fiffer's." 
 
 He recovered his usual manner in a moment, 
 save that a little more excitement than usual 
 showed itself; his voice was almost gay as he an- 
 swered, "I have just come from there." 
 
 "Mrs. Fiffer was so anxious to see you," she 
 said, wondering what had happened. 
 
 He went towards the tea things, which were still 
 in the room, hesitated, then poured some whisky 
 into a glass, from the decanter that had been 
 brought in for Lant, and swallowed it with a gulp. 
 "Of course she was anxious. She wanted me to 
 
 209
 
 George Wendern 
 
 hear her news splendid news. Mrs. Fiffer said 
 I was to tell you. " 
 
 "News?" she gasped, "splendid news?" 
 
 "Yes," he laughed out. Mrs. Berwick had 
 never heard him do that before, "She's engaged 
 to Derbyshire excellent, isn't it?" 
 
 "To Lord Derbyshire?" she was genuinely 
 astonished. "Oh oh, dear Mr. Wendern, I 
 hoped I hoped 
 
 "Never hope, wait for things that come your 
 way and make the best of them. " 
 
 "They never come to some people," she hesi- 
 tated and wondered how to tell him of the other 
 catastrophe that had fallen on the house; she 
 had only just heard of it. 
 
 "Quite true, but they've come to Derbyshire, 
 he's a good fellow you must congratulate them. 
 I shall have to get her a wedding-present. What 
 shall it be a tiara? perhaps she'll collect them." 
 He tried to laugh again. 
 
 She got up and stood looking at him, wondering, 
 as Katherine had done, whether he were sane, 
 "Oh, it's too dreadful it's too dreadful, every- 
 thing comes at once," she said, and burst into 
 tears. 
 
 He was surprised and amused, it pulled him 
 together. "My dear Mrs. Berwick, this won't 
 do look here, have some whisky no, tea is what 
 
 210
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 women always want. Let me light the lamp." 
 He went towards it and struck a match. "There 
 you'll be better soon. A cup of tea eh?" 
 He was almost incoherent in his effort not to 
 show his own distraction. "There, it will be 
 ready directly," he repeated. "Now tell me what 
 is agitating you. " 
 
 "Everything is falling about our ears, every- 
 thing at once." 
 
 "I don't understand?" 
 
 "There's a man downstairs he came this after- 
 noon, just before Mr. Lant came and says he 
 must be paid before he leaves the house. The ser- 
 vants are so frightened, they have just been to me; 
 they are very attached to you, but they want 
 their wages. A man came four times yesterday; 
 the cook says the tradespeople won't even send in 
 food any longer." 
 
 "But these are trifles to worry about; I'll pay 
 them like the head of a middle-class family." 
 He went over to the writing-table and took up a 
 letter he had thrown there an hour before. 
 
 "Oh, they are not trifles indeed," Mrs. Ber- 
 wick gasped. "You don't know how difficult 
 it has been " 
 
 He rang the bell and hesitated, he was evidently 
 rapidly formulating something in his mind. " Yes, 
 that will be the way," he said to himself, "I must 
 
 211
 
 George Wendern 
 
 leave it till then but it is a brilliant idea, it will 
 be a surprise, a thing that has never been done 
 before. Not dinner I couldn't stand them for 
 a whole evening supper, I'll give a supper- 
 party." 
 
 "A supper-party?" Mrs. Berwick exclaimed 
 wondering if he were going mad. " But you don't 
 seem to understand, Mr. Wendern, there's a man 
 downstairs a man in possession he won't go. " 
 
 "Let him stay. No doubt they'll make him 
 comfortable," his tone was absent. She made a 
 gesture of despair. 
 
 "Rogers," he said when the bell was answered, 
 "I shall probably be leaving London to-morrow 
 for a few days; I'm not sure yet; but I shall be 
 back on Wednesday. And on Wednesday night I 
 am going to give a party. " 
 
 "Yes, sir." Rogers was too well trained to 
 show any surprise. "What sort of a party, sir?" 
 
 "A supper-party, late as supper should be. I 
 tell you at once, so that you can think it out. It 
 must be the best you can do; Mrs. Berwick, I 
 daresay, will have the kindness to take an interest 
 in it," he looked towards her. 
 
 "Oh yes, of course," she said quickly, more be- 
 wildered than ever. She remembered a grey 
 satin dress that became her well, and regretted that 
 it would not be seen by the guests. 
 
 212
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "For how many, sir?" 
 
 "I'll tell you to-morrow, or in good time at any 
 rate, and " he felt in his pocket and took out 
 the letter, "I want you to cash this cheque wait, 
 I must endorse it it is for 500. Bring back 100 
 to Mrs. Berwick, pay the servants I understand 
 that I owe them some wages and any small bills 
 it will cover, with the rest. " 
 
 "Thank you, sir," Rogers answered imperturb- 
 ably. "I'm sorry to mention it, but there's a man 
 downstairs a man in possession, sir 
 
 "By all means. I hope he is agreeable." He 
 turned away, Rogers left the room. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick could hardly bear it. "Oh, Mr. 
 Wendern, what a relief, you don't know what it 
 has been " she put her handkerchief to her eyes 
 to force back the tears that stung them. "What 
 am I to do with the 100 that Rogers brings 
 back?" 
 
 "My dear lady, I thought perhaps you might 
 find it useful to cover some little forgotten ac- 
 count of your own. " 
 
 "Oh " she could have cried again for sheer 
 relief, even for joy. 
 
 "I want to explain," Wendern went on, "that 
 besides the trifling matters that have distressed 
 you, there are a number of gentlemen who have 
 or imagine they have claims against me. I have 
 
 213
 
 George Wendern 
 
 had a sudden idea, quite a brilliant one, I mean to 
 invite them all to supper and to pay them. Most 
 of them are shareholders in a Syndicate, and not 
 quite satisfied with their position one or two 
 of them have been so accommodating as to lend me 
 money, in short, we shall have a motley crew; 
 that is if I can persuade them to come. Before 
 they leave their claims will be settled. I hope it 
 will amuse you to see that their entertainment is 
 worthy of them. " 
 
 "I shall like it immensely. I shall try and get 
 a peep at them through the crack of the door, or 
 through the orange-trees; I could if I went out 
 through the morning-room," she tried to be arch 
 again, but she was too much surprised to do it well. 
 He had produced 500 without turning a hair, just 
 when she had imagined that no money would 
 be forthcoming, and now it seemed as if these 
 other creditors would be dealt with as well 
 "in a manner worthy of the mad hatter," she 
 thought. 
 
 There was a pause, he took another gulp of 
 whisky. "It would be delightful to ask you to 
 join us, but a bachelor party, you know " 
 
 "Oh, of course it would be impossible " then, 
 as if on an impulse, "you will think it a strange 
 idea; but there is Mr. Bulson " 
 
 "Who is Mr. Bulson?" 
 214
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 ' The wine merchant a most gentlemanlike 
 man, I assure you, and 
 
 "There is nothing to prevent a wine merchant 
 from being a gentleman he often is one." 
 
 "He has a large account but he is so anxious 
 not to worry you; he is really very refined." 
 
 He was quite interested, he looked at her and 
 wondered if Parker had a rival. "I'm sure of it. 
 Would you like me to ask him to supper?" He 
 said it as a joke, and was surprised when she 
 answered : 
 
 "Do you know, I was wondering whether it 
 mightn't be a good thing," she was thinking of 
 Cyril's days and the old tactics; "you see, his 
 account is a very large one. " 
 
 "It shall be paid with the rest; and Mr. Bulson 
 shall be invited to supper. Perhaps you would like 
 to write the invitation yourself?" He started 
 nervously as the clock struck. "It's getting late," 
 he said. 
 
 "You are going away to-morrow away again?" 
 She went closer to him; she put out her hand and 
 quickly drew it back; against her will she re- 
 membered that the other woman had refused him. 
 
 He nodded for answer, and looked into her eyes; 
 there was an expression in them that took him by 
 surprise, for a moment it embarrassed him, but 
 he recovered quickly. "Yes, to-morrow and now 
 
 215
 
 George Wendern 
 
 I must go out. I shall probably be late," he 
 added with decision. 
 
 "Oh, don't go " she entreated, "you are bet- 
 ter in your own place, and you are worried, I 
 know it dine at home this evening?" 
 
 "At home," he said bitterly, "I have no home; 
 this is only a make-shift, a shelter the highway." 
 
 "The highway, what way?" she asked puz- 
 zled. 
 
 "I don't know yet," he answered with a cyn- 
 ical sound that conveyed nothing. 
 
 "But don't go out now, dine at home," she re- 
 peated, her voice trembled. She looked up at him. 
 
 "At home! But I have no home. And you've 
 had enough of me for to-day, dear lady, I'll not 
 intrude on you." 
 
 "Oh, don't say that " she broke down and 
 sobbed. "I can't bear it. Don't go I I " 
 she held out both hands now and groped for his. 
 
 He stared at her aghast, took the hands, kissed 
 them, and dropped them abruptly. "You, dear 
 lady, are very charming " 
 
 "If you really thought so " she whispered. 
 
 He added quickly, "too charming to allow me 
 to regard you with anything but admiration and 
 respect. My friend Parker thinks you the most 
 delightful of your sex. " 
 
 Then she realised her folly. She had given her- 
 216
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 self away, though she had known from the begin- 
 ning it was no good, and told herself so a score 
 of times. She retreated as best she could, her 
 cheeks burned, her eyes dropped, she covered her 
 confusion with, "He's the kindest man in the 
 world." 
 
 "You must treat him well." Wendern looked 
 at her again ; this was a queer situation for which 
 he had not bargained. Luckily Rogers entered 
 again with the cable that came every evening 
 while the lawsuit was going on. He tore it 
 open, New developments impossible finish this 
 week certain early next. It would probably be 
 over in time for Wednesday night, but in any 
 case Lant's 10,000 would make it all right for 
 the shareholders, he thought. 
 
 "Rogers," he said, "I want you to remember 
 that the supper on Wednesday must be done well 
 done large, as they used to say in my country; 
 everything, anything you can think of, no shirk- 
 ing, no skimping, nothing commonplace, flowers 
 quantities of them, the best wines, lots of cham- 
 pagne, lights, music send for the Corsican Band 
 send for everything, do you hear?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." Rogers left the room with the tea- 
 tray. 
 
 Wendern read the cable again. Mrs. Berwick 
 waited with longing, curious eyes, but he said 
 
 217
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 nothing, gave her no clue. She was outside his 
 life and she felt it. 
 
 Presently he looked up at her vacantly and said 
 with a smile, "It shall be a party they will never 
 forget. A night of nights, they will talk of it all 
 their lives." 
 
 "Oh, dear Mr. Wendern, are you mad?" The 
 words slipped from her. 
 
 "Mad!" he exclaimed, "I'm sane at last; sane 
 as a parson on Easter Sunday. " 
 
 "Oh, how could I," she cried to herself when she 
 was alone, "and how can I ever face him again. 
 But I couldn't help it it's no good, he's mad, I 
 know, but he's a darling, " she said it in a whisper, 
 "or he's the devil." Then, as if ashamed, she 
 added quickly, "The devil must be very fascinat- 
 ing, or so many people wouldn't go to him. " 
 
 218
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 WENDERN came down late the next day, 
 or rather appeared late in the morning- 
 room, for he had taken his early ride as usual. He 
 wanted to escape Mrs. Berwick; she was a worthy 
 woman, he told himself, but yesterday he had had 
 a little too much of her; still he did not take her 
 emotion seriously, and forgot that for a moment he 
 had done so. That afternoon he meant to go to 
 Winchelsea, telling no one of his destination; to 
 bury himself there for a week. It was always his 
 plan when he was worried, his antidote for all ills, 
 to get away from the noise and hurry of London 
 to quiet and space. He knew most of the possi- 
 bilities within reach Richmond and Wimbledon, 
 Wandsworth Common and Roehampton, Chorley 
 Wood and New Barnet, the vanishing Bostock 
 Woods of Welling and Mottingham, to mention 
 a few that could be reached in less than an hour 
 with the car or a taxi. The places farther away 
 he knew even better. To Winchelsea he had only 
 been once for a few hours; it had left a longing to 
 go there again. Those old Crusaders in the 
 
 219
 
 George Wendern 
 
 church, crumbling away in their tombs, with their 
 effigies above them, had slept in peace through 
 many centuries; perhaps he might find a little 
 spell of rest in looking at them and remembering 
 the fascination such things had for Katherine. 
 
 Meanwhile there was the morning hour in 
 Princes Gate to get through, Mrs. Berwick was 
 waiting for him; she was so full of excitement that 
 it overpowered the recollection of her indiscretion 
 last night. "Oh, Mr. Wendern," she said, "did 
 you see the paper? The news?" 
 
 "News I had a cable." He was thinking of 
 the Dock case. 
 
 "I don't mean that " 
 
 He turned his head towards her, but could not 
 simulate the eagerness she seemed to exact; his 
 thoughts were reaching, across the inevitable 
 two hours at the office and the interview he meant 
 to have with his lawyers, to Winchelsea, to its 
 dreamlike ways and the slumberous atmos- 
 phere, to the long hours that would be his in the 
 next few days, undisturbed by anything but the 
 daily cable; he meant to go to the Company's 
 office and arrange for that to be sent to him direct. 
 It was almost a satisfaction to remember that a 
 trifling accident made it impossible to take the car. 
 He wanted to retreat into the past, to plan some 
 vague future, not to be reminded of the accursed 
 
 220
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 products of modern civilisation and all the strange 
 doings it had helped to generate. 
 
 "Late last night! But it's most extraordinary," 
 he heard Mrs. Berwick saying, evidently overcome 
 with the importance of her communication, "and 
 so dreadful, of course. Lord Kenton and his son 
 are dead. They have been killed in a motor 
 accident." 
 
 Wendern looked at her now. "Killed might 
 be worse," he said gloomily. "What then, does 
 it matter so much?" 
 
 "But don't you see? Lord Derbyshire gets the 
 .title, the estates, and an immense income. Miss 
 Fiffer will be a marchioness. " 
 
 He was startled for a moment, this had not 
 struck him, he seemed trying to realise what it 
 meant. "She'll do it excellently," he answered. 
 "And she'll like it she'll like it," he added to 
 himself. Then, ashamed of his bitterness, he 
 covered it by saying aloud, "She's a fine creature, 
 and Derbyshire's in luck splendid luck." He 
 turned to the letter he pretended to be writing, but 
 Mrs. Berwick, crossing the room, gave a quick 
 glance and saw that the paper was blank. 
 
 He rose suddenly. "Good-bye," he held out 
 his hand; he was going away for nearly a week 
 and some leave-taking seemed necessary. "When 
 you see Joe, give him my love, and tell him to take 
 
 221
 
 George Wendern 
 
 care of you not to let you mope, " he added with 
 a significant smile. " If he asks for me, tell him 
 that I haven't gone to the devil yet. Only to 
 pull my thoughts together, and to wait for the 
 finish of the Dock case and I'll write to 
 him." 
 
 "But, Mr. Wendern," she asked in consterna- 
 tion, "there's the man in possession?" 
 
 "Let him go on possessing. Rogers and the rest 
 will take care of him. Everything has to be held 
 over till the lawsuit is finished." With that he 
 was going; then he hesitated and, lest she should 
 feel any sense of insecurity, wrote down the ad- 
 dress of his solicitors. "They will know my ad- 
 dress, in case of accidents," he explained, "but 
 I want no letters forwarded." 
 
 At the office Dawson too was in a state of ex- 
 citement, not only at the Kenton catastrophe, for 
 of course he knew Derbyshire well, but because 
 Lant had written saying that he intended to pay 
 off any impecunious shareholders in the Syndicate 
 who had been brought in at his, Lant's, invita- 
 tion and were dissatisfied with their holding. He 
 wanted their names and addresses; cheques would 
 be sent as soon as the transfers were executed and 
 the certificates returned. 
 
 "Seems a funny thing to do, sir, and very sud- 
 den. I suppose Mr. Lant has got something up 
 
 222
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 his sleeve, perhaps he knows that the Syndicate 
 is worth more than any of us think. I mean to 
 stick to my lot, if you don't mind ?" 
 
 "I do mind," Wendern said sharply. "You'll 
 sell them, do you hear?" 
 
 "Very well, sir, if you wish it, of course. But 
 it seems rather a pity; Mr. Lant isn't the sort to 
 buy them up for nothing. " 
 
 "He doesn't." 
 
 "Oh?" No further information appeared to 
 be forthcoming, so Dawson changed the subject. 
 "I see there's a long account of the Dock case in 
 the paper this morning; it's taken a turn." 
 
 "It's taken a turn," Wendern echoed, and 
 busied himself at his table for a few minutes; 
 then he looked up. "I'm going to the country 
 till Wednesday. The case is certain to be decided 
 by then; and I shall pay off the people in the Syn- 
 dicate who took shares in any way through me 
 though luckily these are not a poor set to whom 
 loss would mean ruin; I shall do it for my own 
 satisfaction." 
 
 Dawson was quite startled. "Pay them off?" 
 he echoed. 
 
 " I want you to get transfers ready for them, as 
 well as for the Lant clients, and dispatch them. 
 There are not many, I am glad to say; but I am 
 going to invite them to supper with me on Wednes- 
 day night at my house. They will be paid off 
 
 223
 
 George Wendern 
 
 before they leave, provided they bring transfers 
 with them properly executed and the certificates 
 of their shares. " 
 
 "Yes, sir.'* Dawson regretted that he was not 
 one of them. "Will it be all right, sir, if you 
 don't win the Dock case?" he ventured to ask. 
 
 "I shall win it; but if not, it will be all the same; 
 they will be paid off." He read Lant's letter 
 again; he had found it waiting for him at the 
 office. It ran: 
 
 I will expect you between five and six at the Grosvenor Hotel 
 on Wednesday. The loan will be at your disposal, so get any 
 shareholders who worry you, or are troublesome, off your 
 mind. On Thursday the meeting, and the reconstruction 
 proposal for the benefit of those still in the Syndicate. 
 
 You ought to get a yacht, dear chappie, and a fair friend; 
 nothing like that combination for pleasantly escaping the 
 cares and attentions of the world. 
 
 He tore up the letter and wondered what the 
 woman was like. He saw through Lant now, and 
 knew him for a scoundrel; but, as sometimes hap- 
 pens even with the greatest scoundrels, he had a 
 vein of sentiment; it would induce him to keep 
 his word about the 10,000. The reason of the 
 offer was too deeply rooted in the bygone years to 
 make it possible he would go back on it: to Wen- 
 dern the best in human nature was always com- 
 pelling in the end. 
 
 Besides, Lant knew that the meeting and the 
 precious reconstruction would go more smoothly 
 
 224
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 if certain members of the Syndicate were cleared 
 out of it, and only the careless of liability left in. 
 
 The thought of the 10,000 was an immense 
 relief to Wendern. If the Dock case were decided 
 it might not be necessary to use it; but if it still 
 dragged on, the loan would enable him to pay back 
 the money to those whose possible loss, whether 
 they were or were not in a position to afford it, 
 had become a nightmare to him. His one desire 
 was to discharge every debt he had incurred; 
 and after that the deluge. If he had any definite 
 scheme of life left it was to rid himself of every- 
 thing he possessed, and to get away with just 
 enough to take him to the other end of the world. 
 He remembered with a rush of thankfulness that he 
 had not sold Sandway Strip. The shanty he had 
 talked of should be put up. He thought of the 
 stars looking down on it at night, of the cool of the 
 dawn, of the blazing heat of noon, from which 
 the roughly constructed roof would shelter him, of 
 the soft swiftly passing twilight, in which Nature 
 whispered its thankfulness for the splendour of 
 the day that had gone. 
 
 "If I once get there again," he thought, "all 
 may be well; and if I come back to this place, it 
 shall not be as a cumberer of the earth, of no use 
 except occasionally to minister to the vanities of a 
 set of people who have never realised what a mag- 
 
 225
 
 George Wendern 
 
 nificent thing it is to be rich and to have time at 
 their disposal. But I expect few manage to do 
 that till they've outlived the best possibilities of 
 life for themselves." 
 
 He went to his lawyers before leaving London 
 to give instructions concerning the house at Princes 
 Gate and its contents. The man in possession he 
 regarded almost as a sorry joke, a queer comedy 
 part, not to be hustled through too quickly. 
 There would be plenty to pay him off, to do 
 something for Mrs. Berwick, and to discharge all 
 the minor obligations. After all, with Lant's 
 loan in view there was no need to worry. Sud- 
 denly he remembered Parker's 500 the 10,000 
 might not cover that too; but it would be paid 
 with the fortune the finish of the lawsuit would 
 bring him. Fortune ? This time he would know 
 how to handle it, or rather, he would think out 
 how to do it when he reached his shanty thousands 
 of miles away. Thousands of miles away; the 
 words were full of music. 
 
 The lawyers received him as a person of im- 
 portance, and poured congratulations on him, 
 taking the success of the Dock case for granted; 
 long accounts of it were in the papers. "The 
 papers usually lie," he told them, but the cer- 
 tainty they expressed was pleasant. "Whichever 
 way it goes," he said, "in a fortnight's time or 
 
 226
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 less I want you to set about realising everything 
 I possess. I can't take root in this country. I 
 hear my own calling. Make out a list of any 
 assets I have. There are a good many in the house, 
 for I have wasted money pretty freely, and there 
 are some outside it that ought to realise enough 
 to wipe out the minor debts. When the lawsuit 
 is at an end there will be plenty for other pur- 
 poses." 
 
 "Of course." They knew that, better than he 
 did. 
 
 "Strange man," the lawyer said when he'd gone, 
 "always gives one an impression of being on his 
 way somewhere." 
 
 Strange they should say it, for he often felt that 
 he was in a transition stage from a former state 
 to a future one; that farther along the world's 
 highway there were truths and mysteries to learn, 
 to penetrate, not eagerly or ruthlessly but calmly 
 and reverently; and along it, Katherine seemed, 
 unconsciously to herself, to tread beside him. It 
 made him wonder whether there might not be a 
 companionship of soul, of which the material self 
 took no account, freighted with compensation 
 for all that the being, moulded by outward in- 
 fluences, seemed unable to resist? Probably she 
 was getting ready now for her coming glories. 
 Dead Sea fruit but she might not discover it; 
 
 227
 
 George Wendern 
 
 besides, even among women, some play for happi- 
 ness and some for other things: "We all build 
 our own little heavens or hells," he thought, "and 
 of queer material; sometimes not knowing which 
 is which till we have passed the gateway. " 
 
 All this he thought out in the train, on the plat- 
 form at Ashford, where he had to change carriages, 
 and in the fly on the long drive to the sleepy-look- 
 ing hotel and the rooms for which he had tele- 
 graphed. He wondered why he did not feel more 
 acutely the shock he had had, for he hardly real- 
 ised that it was one. His love for Katherine had 
 been the strongest feeling of his life, she dominated 
 it now, she would to its end; and yet, though she 
 would never be his, though his lips would never 
 touch hers again, nor her head rest on his shoulder 
 as it had done in that divine minute at Brighton, 
 though she was going to give herself deliberately 
 to another man not merely her money but her- 
 self, he was taking it as calmly as though it were 
 all in the day's work. It seemed to hypnotise 
 him; he could feel certain minor things but this 
 had left him with only a dazed sense of surprise, 
 a desire to escape everything and go to the 
 other side of the world. "The other side of 
 the world," he said to himself again, half a 
 dozen times; to stay here, on this side, any 
 longer was a condition he could not face. Sud- 
 
 228
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 denly he realised why he took it all so calmly; 
 she was giving herself to Derbyshire herself, her 
 voice, her hands, her damnable money; but all the 
 time she loved him him, George Wendern. She 
 was desperately giving the other man her body 
 but not her soul. That was his his. _ Some 
 higher, better, tenderer self that lived in her, and 
 that the lower self bolted and barred away from 
 him, looked through its prison windows and would 
 escape to him, do what she would. She might 
 live in Derbyshire's castle, and trail into palaces 
 to make her curtseys to kings and queens as much 
 as she pleased, all the time her soul would be his 
 George Wendern's. It would follow him and he 
 would feel it with him when he was in the little 
 shanty that should never know anything but 
 human love and hope and endeavour. "My 
 God," he said to himself, "I can understand now 
 why Christ was born in a manger. " 
 
 And so he loved her, for why should he deny 
 himself? loved her again, though as it were from 
 the clouds. 
 
 He felt, too, that he had done well in coming to 
 Winchelsea. That its stillness and peace would 
 clear the cobwebs from his brain. As if to help 
 towards it the cable that was sent on an hour after 
 his arrival was a good one. Ah! Soon he would 
 be a free man, free of all the obligations that 
 
 229
 
 George Wendern 
 
 fettered him now. He imagined the blue sea over 
 which he would scud on board a ship with white 
 sails. He remembered, with a cynical smile, that 
 the day of white sails was at an end, the thud-thud 
 of the engines had taken their place, no matter; 
 if realities had lost some of their beauty, dreams 
 need not truckle to them. 
 
 Then some demon suggested, " But if everything 
 goes wrong, if, after all, the Dock case fails if 
 Lant plays false and doesn't advance the 10,000 
 if you have to meet those men at supper know- 
 ing that no cheques will be given them, to tell 
 them that the transfers must be torn up, the cer- 
 tificates carried home again, that there is no money 
 for them the whole thing is a swindle?" 
 
 He faced the possibility calmly, his pulse hardly 
 moved. But he remembered a speech at the 
 deputation and thought of the second it takes to 
 pull a trigger. "After all, there is one great solu- 
 tion for all ills," he told himself, "death and the 
 gravedigger between them give it to even the poor- 
 est devil at last. " 
 
 In the twilight he went down to the sea. He 
 had begun already to think out some plan of life 
 worth a man's living. He knew that his desire to 
 live any life at all was a make-believe, and yet he 
 persevered. The happiest people in creation, 
 it seemed to him, were the working poor, the most 
 
 230
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 responsible the working rich. But his strongest 
 feeling concerning himself was, as he had said on 
 an impulse to Joe and it had been growing on him 
 since, that he ought to be shot. " But no, George 
 Wendern," he said, "that shall not be the end, 
 and your food for thought is set out ready for 
 you when you are in your shanty on Sandway 
 Strip; may it be a sacrament to you." 
 
 He choked as he said it, the curious inability 
 to feel, the sense of being hypnotised, was drift- 
 ing away, leaving one of desolation and misery. 
 After all he was a mortal man; and there was only 
 cold comfort in the possession of Katherine's 
 soul; he wanted her, her human love herself, 
 as a man wants the woman he adores. He clenched 
 his teeth to bear silently and calmly what had hap- 
 pened to him. Blue skies and a ship, a shanty on 
 the other side of the world, what did he care for 
 any of them ? He wanted the woman of his heart, 
 the one woman of his life. He was baffled and 
 cornered, taken, as he expressed it, by a sidewalk 
 into hell, and for one moment in the darkness on 
 the deserted beach he threw up his hands as Kath- 
 erine had done in the library at Princes Gate when 
 the door closed on her mother. " I can't stand it, " 
 he said, "nor do I see in any of the fine sentiments 
 with which we hedge ourselves round a reason 
 why I should, when I have discharged the obliga- 
 
 231
 
 George Wendern 
 
 tions which by sheer carelessness and foolery I 
 have incurred. The shareholders will be safe soon, 
 there'll be fragments to gather up, the end of the 
 lawsuit will put a fortune into my hands. I must 
 find a little wisdom to deal with it and that is 
 all." 
 
 Gradually the darkness gathered round him, 
 the sound of the sea was in his ears, the wind swept 
 past; he felt as if he were a madman keeping his 
 madness well in hand so that no one would suspect. 
 "My dear," he said to her in his thoughts, "I 
 shall go on and love you as long as I live. But it 
 must be as far off from you as possible, and may all 
 that you get in exchange give you some sort of 
 satisfaction. I have been a brute to you at odd 
 moments during these last hours, but luckily you 
 won't know or even guess it. " 
 
 He turned his face towards the long road that 
 led to the hotel and doggedly made himself think 
 of practical things again. He wondered if El- 
 worthy, the solicitor, when he made out the lists 
 of assets would find that there was enough to do 
 something for Mrs. Berwick. "However, I hope 
 Joe will marry that lady," he thought. "If he 
 does, he'll do me another good turn and he won't 
 do himself a bad one, for there's a curious con- 
 scientiousness about the little woman that will 
 prevent her from bringing disaster on any one 
 
 232
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 with whom she has concern. I hope he is taking 
 her to the Carlton this evening. " 
 
 As a matter of fact they were at the Savoy, at 
 one of the little tables by a window, and between 
 the excellent courses that both of them enjoyed, 
 as only those do who remember poor and scanty 
 food, they looked out at the Embankment. The 
 trees wore a vivid green in the softening light that 
 comes before the greyness and the tramcars 
 moved along swiftly, silently almost, with their 
 lamps already shining, making them seem like 
 living monsters apologetic for desecrating the 
 beautiful highway by the river. Joe was absent- 
 minded, meditating on the news about Wendern 
 of which Mrs. Berwick told him that is, the 
 part of it that related to Katherine Fiffer. For 
 the rest, Wendern had sent him a hurried line 
 telling him that he had an appointment at 
 the Grosvenor Hotel with Christopher Lant late 
 on Wednesday afternoon, that he should be back 
 for it, and for the meeting next day; but he had 
 not given any clue to his present whereabouts. 
 The letter had been written at the office. He 
 had felt that he wanted to get away even from the 
 friend he liked best, and Joe, always queerly 
 sympathetic, understood it. 
 
 "Well, a woman who can throw over a chap like 
 
 233
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Wendern for one like Derbyshire isn't worth a 
 dead jackass, " was his comment. " As for George, 
 why, the Dock case will be finished soon, and there 
 will be plenty of birds in the air for him; he'll 
 bring 'em down too, you may be certain of that. " 
 
 "You think it will be finished by Wednesday?" 
 
 "I expect so," he answered. There was a long 
 pause, for many things were in Parker's mind 
 before he said, "I'm afraid you won't see much 
 of me between this and then. I've a good deal to 
 do, and I've a sister at Yarmouth and it's about 
 time I thought of going to see her. " 
 
 "Oh," she made her tone regretful, though in 
 reality she felt that his absence would be a relief. 
 "I shall miss you." 
 
 "Well, if you take it that way I shall be satis- 
 fied. I shall be in on Wednesday, you may be cer- 
 tain of that, and I'll bring one or two little things 
 to show you. I've been considering in my own 
 mind what I'd do with them, and " he took a 
 gulp of champagne, "I've been considering about 
 you too, Mrs. Berwick. I'd like you to know it, so 
 that you can make up your mind what you'll do 
 if I think it's wise to say what's in mine. " 
 
 She dropped her eyes. "Oh, Mr. Parker, you 
 are so droll." 
 
 "Well, I never heard it called droll before; 
 but I'm glad it strikes you that way. Anyhow, 
 
 234
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 I'll be in between six and seven on Wednesday and 
 hear how things are going. I think I shall have 
 something of my own to tell George too; you might 
 say so if he comes first. Meanwhile, I'll call on 
 Mrs. Fiffer before I go to Yarmouth and let her 
 know what I think of that young woman. " 
 
 "Mr. Wendern hasn't invited you to come in on 
 Wednesday?" Mrs. Berwick asked discreetly. 
 
 "No, I don't know that he has, but that doesn't 
 matter between old friends like us. I come when 
 I like and mean to go on with it. " 
 
 "Of course," Mrs. Berwick answered softly; 
 but she did not mention the party, for Wendern 
 had said nothing about inviting him. It must 
 be repeated that she was a tactful woman. 
 
 235
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE tension of the days that followed was al- 
 most more than Mrs. Berwick could bear. 
 There was no sign from Wendern; Joe Parker sent 
 her a picture postcard from Yarmouth, on which 
 he had written "With best wishes, from J. P.," 
 but she heard nothing else from him. 
 
 With the Fiffers she had no communication at 
 all; there were particulars of the Ken ton catas- 
 trophe in the papers, and paragraphs about Lord 
 Derbyshire's accession to the title and his engage- 
 ment to a great American heiress who would in- 
 crease considerably his already immense income; 
 and it was stated that the marriage would take 
 place soon and quietly. Katherine used his newly 
 acquired car once or twice; and her mother was to 
 be seen whirling away in the Fiffer one. But visits 
 between the two houses in Princes Gate had seem- 
 ingly come to an end. 
 
 "They have forgotten; these people always for- 
 get," Mrs. Berwick thought a little bitterly as the 
 days went by and no sign was made to her. 
 "They take you up on a freak or an impulse be- 
 cause you amuse them, or can be of use to them, 
 
 236
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 or because you come across their path and they are 
 too polite not to be civil before you get out of it 
 but care! nobody who is rich cares for women who 
 are poor and of no position; though occasionally 
 they are kind as a matter of moral duty. Oh, 
 how I hate duty. I should like to escape into a 
 big generous world where every one could be 
 natural and no one was snubbed or envied, and 
 one never had to be underhand in little things." 
 The last sentence betrayed that Mrs. Berwick had 
 an outlook of her own, though it might have been 
 warped or misshapen by circumstances. 
 
 The man in possession was still possessing and 
 well content. The servants were appeased by the 
 40x3 suddenly spent in the household. They were 
 really devoted to Wendern; he held them as if 
 by a spell, and not even the proofs of financial 
 embarrassment seriously disturbed their belief 
 in his making things right for them. Mrs. Ber- 
 wick herself had been immensely comforted by the 
 100 allotted to her, she had paid the water rate 
 for Mrs. Rigg and given presents to the entire 
 family, besides wiping out some bills of her own. 
 
 Monday came, Tuesday Wednesday morning. 
 
 The supper was to be that night. She wondered 
 at what time Wendern would return. The cables 
 had ceased since he went away she supposed that 
 they had been sent on to him; but it made no dif- 
 
 237
 
 George Wendern 
 
 ference, for of their contents she had known little 
 or nothing when he was at home. Every morn- 
 ing there was the excitement of reading the ac- 
 count of the Dock case in the paper; it had 
 spread out a good deal, and she gathered that fresh 
 complications had arisen. Still the crisis had been 
 reached at last, the speeches made, and the verdict 
 might be expected at any moment. It was not in 
 the Wednesday morning paper, but it was bound 
 to come that day; she reckoned up the difference 
 of time, and felt that any moment might bring it. 
 She was more feverishly anxious than Wendern 
 himself, for his affairs had become a terrible anx- 
 iety to her; and her own future as well as his 
 seemed to be hanging on the result of the trial. 
 Thank Heaven, he would be back in a few hours; 
 she was half hysterical again with nervousness 
 and a sickening fear, for which she could not ac- 
 count; above all, with a mad longing to see him. 
 She felt lonely, shackled, bewildered, all by turns, 
 and only occasionally and in sheer desperation did 
 she think of Joe Parker. 
 
 The morning dragged by while she sat in her 
 usual place by the writing-table. The window 
 leading out to the garden had been closed. She 
 got up and opened it to let in the summer air. 
 Then, for the first time since their engagement, 
 she saw Katherine and Derbyshire together. She 
 
 238
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 had not yet learnt to call him by his new title; 
 besides, the funeral that gave him leave to use it 
 had only taken place two days ago. They came 
 out of the Fiffer house on to the lawn, and were 
 evidently deep in conversation. She went out 
 and walked up and down, slowly, in the soft shade 
 on her side of the enclosure, carefully crossing 
 their path, thinking they were certain to stop and 
 speak to her; but they passed close by her twice, 
 apparently without seeing her; then suddenly 
 Katherine turned her head and asked, "When 
 does Mr. Wendern come back?" 
 
 "This evening." Mrs. Berwick gathered her 
 wits together and smiled, but the two people, 
 interested in themselves, went on. They did not 
 want her, they had ignored her, she told herself, 
 as she went back to the morning-room; but she 
 was used to not being wanted; she remembered 
 that it had been difficult to find any one who 
 thought her even worthy of her hire. Joe Parker 
 was the one exception to the rule. He was com- 
 ing between six and seven that afternoon, he had 
 said so, and he was a rock to lean upon, a man who 
 kept his word. For the first time she thought of 
 him not only gratefully, but almost with affection. 
 
 "And if he asks me, I'll marry him," she told 
 herself. He was good-natured and kind-hearted, 
 and though she was not a bit in love with him, it 
 
 239
 
 George Wendern 
 
 would be such a blessed thing to escape from 
 poverty for good and all, to get away from servi- 
 tude, to be natural and and if she was to know 
 peace of mind she must go far away from George 
 Wendern, she realised that it was the only way. 
 "How women suffer," she cried aloud without 
 knowing it, "gagged and bound and helpless 
 how they suffer, and men never dream it, or care 
 as little as they appear to know it oh, what 
 fools we are what fools. " She put her hands to 
 her head for a moment, then cooled her eyes with 
 a soft handkerchief dipped into the water of a 
 bowl of roses. In ten minutes she was herself 
 again. 
 
 At last the afternoon. 
 
 She saw the flowers arrive in a waggon, stacks 
 of them, tall trees and boxes of foliage to make a 
 background for the band, which was to be put at 
 the far end of the dining-room near the orange- 
 trees, on a sort of dais away from the windows that 
 led out to the garden and the lawn. When she 
 went to see what was being done soon after four 
 o'clock, Rogers and his people were busy with the 
 table; it was being laid for twenty or more, she 
 thought, but she had not intellect enough left to 
 count the places. They stopped when she entered, 
 as if they resented her coming. The servants 
 never forgot, and she knew it, that Mrs. Berwick 
 
 240
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 might be a lady, or think herself one, but she was 
 paid to be there, just the same as they were, and 
 between them there was always much civility, 
 but also some veiled resentment, which occasion- 
 ally expressed itself on their side in a little ventur- 
 ing familiarity. 
 
 "I came to see the flowers, they are really 
 beautiful," she said loftily; she found loftiness a 
 diplomatic attitude. 
 
 "They're not bad," Rogers answered con- 
 descendingly; "Mr. Wendern wants things done 
 handsomely to-night." He went to the side- 
 board and began to take the foil and wire off the 
 corks of some extra bottles of champagne, leaving 
 only the strings to be cut, before laying them 
 down: they looked better with the foil on for the 
 table. "This is the brand you're so fond of 
 extra dry," he said, and looked round with a smile; 
 he had grown less respectful since it had struck 
 him that she might be left unpaid with the rest, 
 and find it as inconvenient as any of them. 
 
 "Continue your work, Rogers, and be good 
 enough not to make any remarks. " 
 
 "Certainly, ma'am." 
 
 She went up to the orange-trees and lingered, 
 not choosing to be hurried away by the impatient 
 glances of the servants, unlocked the door behind 
 the trees and looked out at the green expanse be- 
 
 241
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 yond. She could see the Fiffer windows on the 
 right, half screened by the trees; a little journey- 
 ing breeze wandered by and lifted the leaves on 
 its way, so that she saw the white curtains of the 
 room she knew to be Katherine's. She closed the 
 door and went back towards the table that was a 
 chaos at present with preparations for the night's 
 festivity. 
 
 Suddenly, through the open door, she saw Wen- 
 dern's kitbags being carried across the hall towards 
 the stairs. 
 
 242
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 HE had come back! 
 She nearly cried out for joy and relief; 
 she could scarcely hide her excitement. "Oh 
 she went forward with a quickness that was 
 promptly checked. On the threshold she found 
 herself face to face with him. "Oh, Mr. Wendern, 
 you have come! And you look much better it 
 has done you good? Did the motor meet you? 
 I heard that it came from the makers this morn- 
 ing. " A little resentment darted into her heart 
 as she thought that perhaps Rogers had known 
 the hour of his return, and she had been cheated 
 of some anticipation. 
 
 "I am much better," Wendern answered with 
 a grateful smile: he seemed pleased to see her. 
 "I've been to the sea and rested; and no, the 
 motor didn't meet me; I came in a taxi. But 
 I shall want it," he added, turning to Rogers; 
 " I am going out again at five, or soon afterwards. " 
 He looked anxiously at the preparations for the 
 feast, and seemed to have some plan in his head: 
 she wondered what it might be. Hardly knowing 
 what she did, she followed him to the morning- 
 
 243
 
 George Wendern 
 
 room; it worried him, and she knew it, he ex- 
 pected her to leave him alone after the morning. 
 But it was no good she had to follow him; she 
 felt irresponsible, almost hypnotised. He waited 
 for her to go, but she couldn't go, she wouldn't. 
 
 "Is there a telegram for me?" he asked im- 
 patiently and sent for Rogers. 
 
 "No, sir, none has come." 
 
 There was a sound of the front door being noisily 
 closed. "Perhaps that's it; go and see," escaped 
 Wendern's lips. Then she knew that his calm- 
 ness, like her own, was assumed. 
 
 Rogers looked behind him. "It's Mr. Tillatt, 
 sir, he always comes in that way." 
 
 "Tillatt who's he?" 
 
 "The man in possession, sir." 
 
 "He gives himself dreadful airs," Mrs. Berwick 
 said, "and always goes in and out by the front 
 door." 
 
 "Never mind he'll go into hell by the front 
 door some day and never come out. " He turned 
 to her when Rogers had gone and explained, "I 
 thought a cable would have been here by this 
 time." 
 
 Then, not able to restrain herself, she burst out 
 with, "Oh, I hope it will be all right. It will end 
 to-day, I know I saw it in the paper. " 
 
 He gave a little shrug, and went up to the writ- 
 244
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 ing-table. She felt that she ought to leave him, 
 but still something held her. "If it doesn't come 
 soon," he said, as if speaking to himself rather 
 than to her, "I shall be up a tree." 
 
 "Mr. Wendern," for she could bear it no longer, 
 "you told me you were giving this supper-party 
 to the shareholders of the Syndicate?" 
 
 "Quite right. I'm giving it to some of them." 
 
 "I heard it was not doing very well?" 
 
 "It's doing very badly. Financial paper to- 
 day had a long article about it. " 
 
 "Oh, but that's good, isn't it?" she asked and 
 looked up sympathetic and with appealing eyes. 
 
 "Well, no," he answered with a cynical smile, 
 "not very it denounces it as a wild-cat scheme." 
 
 "Oh " 
 
 "Perhaps because it wasn't bribed to say the 
 reverse. " 
 
 "I'm sure that's it." 
 
 "Well you are a nice woman; but you know 
 nothing about it. Personally, I think the paper is 
 right." 
 
 "Oh " she said again as if alarmed, though she 
 was soothed at being called a nice woman, "but 
 mayn't I know something about it before the rest 
 do ? Anything that concerns you " She clasped 
 her hands against her bosom. 
 
 A little apprehension came into his face again, 
 
 245
 
 George Wendern 
 
 as if he feared another scene was coming. But 
 a look at her face showed him that she had herself 
 well under control. "The Syndicate is, as a 
 matter of fact, doing very badly," he said and 
 waited a moment. "The very little shareholders 
 are safe, but some others, reckless beggars or fat, 
 living in well-feathered nests, came in on the 
 strength of my name. I've called them together, 
 as well as some other unfortunate devils to whom 
 I owe money perhaps they'll get a cheque each. 
 If the cable is good, I mean if the lawsuit is over, 
 they will, if it is not " 
 
 "If if it is not?" 
 
 "Then I shall still be able to pay them off from 
 another source and to-night before they leave 
 the house " He waited again, a queer look came 
 into his eyes. "If anything should prevent that 
 why, it will be amusing to see them riotous with 
 rage. " 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Wendern, how can you risk it?" 
 
 "Don't be afraid. Besides, risks give life some 
 of its best excitements; it would be dull without 
 them. The riot will be short, if there is one at 
 all. Have you seen anything of our friends over 
 the way?" He nodded towards the garden. 
 
 "Miss Fiffer was walking up and down the gar- 
 den with Lord Derbyshire I mean Lord Kenton 
 this morning, but I only spoke to her for a mo- 
 
 246
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 ment. They didn't look very happy," she added, 
 for it had struck her curiously afterwards how 
 unloverlike they had seemed. "I passed Mrs. 
 Fiffer out driving this afternoon, and she looked 
 very cross she didn't see me 
 
 "Ah I heard the door bell." He raised his 
 head. 
 
 "How acute your hearing is, I didn't notice 
 it." 
 
 "There are times when one can hear the rustle 
 of an angel's wing in Paradise or the grin of a fiend 
 in hell." 
 
 Rogers brought in a buff envelope. There was 
 a slight convulsive movement of Wendern's fin- 
 gers when he opened it, but he showed no sign as 
 he read it, and she was not sure whether it was the 
 cable or merely an ordinary telegram. "There is 
 no answer," he said, and stared at it absently, 
 then turned away with it in his hand. 
 
 For the life of her she couldn't ask if it was the 
 verdict; besides he never allowed himself to be 
 questioned. She waited silently with her still 
 hands clasped, hoping he would speak; it seemed 
 to her that the seconds, as they went by, lingered 
 to hear, and the clock ticked more loudly than 
 usual; but he said nothing. Again when she could 
 bear it no longer a little sound came from her lips, 
 it served to bring her back to his remembrance. 
 
 247
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Do you know anything about Joe Parker?" 
 he asked. "Has he come back from Yarmouth?" 
 
 She tried to answer naturally. "Yes. He said 
 he would come in between six and seven to-day 
 that he might have something to tell you. " 
 
 Wendern looked at the clock. "I can't wait for 
 him." He rang again and asked Rogers, "Is the 
 motor at the door?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Good." He thrust the cable or telegram into 
 his pocket and looked puzzled, as if trying to re- 
 member something, and seemed quite unconscious 
 of Mrs. Berwick's anxiety. "If Joe comes, you 
 must keep him till I return," he said in an ab- 
 sent voice, then recovering his self-possession he 
 asked with the smile that always made her heart 
 beat quicker, "I hope he took care of you while I 
 was away?" 
 
 "Yes, yes, thank you," she said impatiently, 
 what did anything matter to her except this 
 this man's concerns. 
 
 "That's right," he nodded approvingly. "If 
 I'm not back when he comes tell him I've gone to 
 the Grosvenor Hotel to see Lant, and ask him to 
 wait for me," he stopped abruptly and looked at 
 his watch. "A quarter past five plenty of time. 
 I must see how the supper-table is going to look. 
 Tell Joe about the party but of course you did ? 
 
 248
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 say, I want him to come, I forgot to invite 
 him." 
 
 "Oh, I'm so glad I didn't tell him anything 
 about it I thought you might be angry but I 
 did so hope he would be here," she had been 
 quite embarrassed at the thought of his not com- 
 ing. 
 
 Wendern went quickly back to the dining-room, 
 and again she followed him; it was no good, she 
 couldn't help it; she noticed how tall he looked, 
 perhaps because he wore the thin loose overcoat 
 in which he had come up from Winchelsea. 
 
 "Rogers," he said, "Mr. Parker will sit at the 
 other end. See there is plenty of champagne, a 
 bottle to every man, and put it on the table so 
 that they can help themselves. Yes, that chair 
 for Mr. Parker that's right, but closer to the 
 trees it's a long table they make a good back- 
 ground. I shall want pen and ink put near me," 
 he felt in his breast-pocket; Mrs. Berwick di- 
 vined that he touched a cheque-book. He looked 
 towards the clock. "Twenty minutes past five, 
 I must go. " 
 
 He went out into the hall, and yet again 
 she followed him. Some abject fear she didn't 
 stay to define impelled her. Suddenly he darted 
 back to the morning-room. Craning her neck, 
 she saw that he went towards the writing-table. 
 
 249
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Her hearing was as acute as his own now. She 
 heard the little jingle of some keys as he took them 
 from his pocket, and the opening and shutting of 
 a drawer the bottom one on the right-hand side 
 of the table. She recognised a little squeaking 
 sound it made. When he returned she knew that 
 he had put something into the side-pocket of his 
 overcoat; a look of determination was on his 
 face. 
 
 A spasm of wild terror passed through her, an 
 awful thought possessed her. "Oh, Mr. Wen- 
 dern," she said in an undertone, so that they might 
 not hear her in the dining-room, "where are you 
 going?" She clutched at his sleeve. "What are 
 you going to do?" 
 
 He looked at her surprised, half amused in a 
 sorry way, for he saw that she was distracted. 
 "I don't know," he answered. "A rudderless 
 ship sometimes goes where no steersman would 
 have driven it. " He took a step towards the door. 
 As he opened it he looked back. His tone was 
 kind, almost affectionate, and she realised it. 
 "You'll see to everything, I know," he said; 
 "you always do. By the way, that band hasn't 
 been told what it is to play, has it? Find out 
 what they can do, and turn on anything you think 
 appropriate." 
 
 "It ought to be lively." 
 250
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "As you please," he answered with a shrug. 
 "The 'Last Post,' if you like." She gave a little 
 gasp, but before she could speak he added, "Mind 
 you tell Joe he must be here to-night. " He took 
 her hand. "And be good to him. He's the best 
 chap in the world, the best friend I ever had. Au 
 revoir again. " In a moment he had gone, he had 
 looked back at her with a smile and a triumphant 
 look in his eyes. 
 
 She staggered to the morning-room and man- 
 aged to open the window, for she couldn't breathe; 
 she was dazed and paralysed with terror. It 
 seemed as if some other self than the one of which 
 she was conscious knew and saw tragedy approach- 
 ing, but had not yet withdrawn the veil that hid it 
 from her actual eyes. If she had only known what 
 the cable held, if it was the cable, but if it had 
 been the verdict he would surely have told her. 
 Besides, it would have been in the evening paper, 
 which had come half an hour ago. She was certain 
 it was not there she snatched it up from the 
 sofa and turned it over again, as she had done 
 when it came, scanning it from end to end. No, 
 not a word concerning the Dock case. There was 
 some mystery she couldn't fathom, some terrible 
 crisis at hand. She felt that it had to do with 
 Christopher Lant, and that on the interview be- 
 tween him and Wendern everything depended. A 
 
 251
 
 George Wendern 
 
 score of suggestions came crowding into her brain 
 impossible meanings to every word he had 
 spoken, impossible endings of the present situation, 
 of ways out of the maze in which she seemed to 
 be standing. If the Dock case went right if the 
 verdict came if Wendern really had the money to 
 pay off these shareholders who were coming to sup- 
 per For a moment it went through her that 
 he was bluffing them. After all, fascinating men 
 had been known to do terribly unexpected and 
 shady things; suppose matters had gone so 
 wrong with him that he meant to bolt and leave 
 every one in the lurch ? She hated herself for the 
 moment's suspicion. George Wendern do so mean 
 a thing! He wouldn't, he wouldn't she knew it. 
 He was like no one else in the world, and, oh ! she 
 loved him as she had never loved any one on earth. 
 She would never own it or betray it, but her heart 
 and soul knew it and would know it to all eternity. 
 Moreover, she loved him so well that beyond all 
 things she longed for his happiness, though she 
 might never for a moment share it, except with 
 the joy of an onlooker. It was a proof of how 
 utterly beyond her reach she knew him to be that 
 she could contemplate marriage, and even con- 
 tentment, with Joe Parker; but she was so tired 
 of steering her own life, she longed for dependence 
 on a man a strong, straight, clean-souled man 
 
 252
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 who would take care of her and give her the shelter 
 and safety of his strength. Then she felt it 
 would be possible to live, even to be content, 
 though romance and all the happy dreams that 
 come of love and passion were for ever beyond her 
 reach. 
 
 The clock chimed half past five. He was at 
 the Grosvenor by this time, she wondered what he 
 and Lant had to say to each other. She had rather 
 liked Lant; a vulgar man and probably an impos- 
 tor for she had summed him up quickly, but with 
 generous inpulses, easy-going and full of compli- 
 ments to women. Perhaps 
 
 The telephone bell rang. 
 
 With a caution that was natural to her, she flew 
 to the door and closed it, then back to the re- 
 ceiver. 
 
 "Mrs. Berwick?" 
 
 "Yes, I'm here." It was George Wendern's 
 voice, there was an agitation in it that she felt, 
 rather than heard. 
 
 "My dear lady," he said, "will you be so very 
 kind as to make yourself look charming though 
 you always do; and if I'm not back in time I 
 want you to be in the drawing-room to receive the 
 guests for me when they arrive at eleven o'clock. " 
 
 "Oh I couldn't I should be afraid- 
 
 "You will do it perfectly," she imagined the 
 
 253
 
 George Wendern 
 
 little smile with which he said it. "Talk to them, 
 be as gracious as you always are, make any excuse 
 you like for my absence, say that I've been away, 
 that unexpected business has detained me, but I 
 am hurrying back. At a quarter past eleven, if 
 I have not arrived, bring them down to the dining- 
 room, and do me the great kindness to have sup- 
 per with us " 
 
 "Have supper with you " she gasped. 
 
 "If you will? I want you to sit at the head of 
 the table. Tell them to alter my place to the 
 other end, where Joe was to sit, then I can slip 
 in through the conservatory see that the door 
 is unlocked, and I will take my place with my 
 back to the orange-trees at worst I shall be there 
 before you are halfway through. " 
 
 "Halfway through " she echoed faintly. 
 
 "By that time you will have charmed them all. " 
 
 "Oh, but must I come down to supper with 
 them?" 
 
 He took no notice and went on. "Tell me you 
 will be as kind as you always are and do what I 
 ask?" 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Wendern," she sighed again, while 
 a vision of herself in her soft grey satin dress with 
 black velvet bows and paste buckles and of a 
 score of men admiring her, and no rival in the 
 field went through her. 
 
 254
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Two of your friends will be there, Joe Parker 
 and Mr. Mr. Bulson; put them on either side 
 of you and make time if I am not there. You will 
 doit?" 
 
 "Oh, ifyouwish- 
 
 "I knew you would, you are always amiable, 
 and you help me greatly by promising to do this. 
 Before I make my ultimate communication to 
 them, if if it is necessary" he laid a queer em- 
 phasis on the word, "I will make a sign and you 
 shall escape," a little sound that he had not 
 intended her to hear came through as he put down 
 the receiver; it sent another stab of terror through 
 her. Something was going to happen, she knew 
 it, but she had no clue to what it might be. She 
 supposed him to be at the Grosvenor Hotel, but 
 nothing had betrayed whether any one else was in 
 the room when he telephoned, or where the mes- 
 sage came from. She looked at the clock again 
 only five minutes since the bell rang twenty-five 
 since he had left the house, but she felt that a great 
 deal had occurred in them. She threw herself on 
 the sofa, and for a few minutes tried to make her- 
 self unconscious of everything about her, of every- 
 thing that might happen; her nerves and brain 
 needed rest from the tension of the last hour. 
 
 "If only Joe Parker would come," she moaned 
 presently; and dragging herself to the looking- 
 
 255
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 glass stood critically examining her face. Hag- 
 gard and old, with lines about the mouth and eyes 
 and what a difference it made when her hair 
 was pushed back from her temples. Joe mustn't 
 see her like this and he would be here directly. 
 She cooled her eyes with her hands and arranged 
 her hair; she knew that the dark blue skirt and the 
 dainty muslin blouse she wore were becoming, if 
 she could rid her face of its careworn expression 
 she could gather courage for the interview with 
 him. Thank goodness he was coming to supper. 
 
 Then she remembered Wendern's instructions 
 and went to the dining-room again. She managed 
 to put on a haughty manner or what she meant 
 to be one while she made the alterations he had 
 indicated, and explained to the servants that Mr. 
 Wendern had just telephoned them, and that if 
 he were not back she would take his place at the 
 table. 
 
 They were astounded. "Well, I never did," 
 Rogers said when she had gone. "I shouldn't 
 wonder if she plays first fiddle here: she will if 
 we don't look out, or it looks very much like it. " 
 
 256
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A QUARTER of an hour later Joe Parker 
 came. He was in high spirits, evidently 
 full of a matter that he considered important, and 
 delighted to see her. 
 
 "Good evening, marm," he said. He always 
 found it difficult to drop the "marm" at the be- 
 ginning of an interview. "I'm glad to be here 
 again. I'd have come earlier, but ' He 
 stopped mysteriously. "I hope you got my post- 
 card from Yarmouth?" 
 
 "Oh yes; and it's so nice to see you, dear Mr. 
 Parker." She put out her hand, and tried not 
 to wince at the strong grip he gave it. 
 
 "They tell me that George has been back and 
 gone out again. But what's all this fuss about 
 out yonder?" He nodded in the direction of the 
 hall. "They seem to be doing something pretty 
 extensive in the way of table-laying; there are 
 flowers enough to stock a market garden?" 
 
 He was looking with surprise at her face. It 
 showed signs of the agitation she had been going 
 through; perhaps that was why he still held her 
 hand, for it was not the sort of thing Joe Parker 
 
 257
 
 George Wendern 
 
 did. And it was Wendern's affairs, not Mrs. Ber- 
 wick, that filled his thoughts at the moment. 
 
 "There's going to be a supper-party at eleven 
 o'clock," she explained. "Mr. Wendern wants 
 you to come to it. He told me to invite you. " 
 
 "George always does something you wouldn't 
 expect. I should have thought it was about the 
 last day he would have cared for party-giving 
 but what's upsetting you? You don't look up to 
 much; nothing happened to George, I mean?" 
 
 "I'm not up to much I'm so frightened and 
 unhappy. " She tried not to shiver with the dread 
 that possessed her, and, for the life of her, she 
 could not put it into words. 
 
 "Well, but don't take it as badly as that buck 
 up." 
 
 "I will." 
 
 "Look here," he went on, "there are a few loose 
 diamonds in my pocket." 
 
 "Oh " Her lips refused to atriculate. 
 
 "You heard what I said, didn't you?" 
 
 "Yes, dear Mr. Parker, I heard the dia- 
 monds?" 
 
 "And well, I've not seen a woman I'd like 
 better to have a bit of gold put round them for. " 
 
 She struggled again to whip up her spirits, and 
 managed to give a sickly smile. "I've not seen a 
 man I'd like better to wear them for," she said. 
 
 258
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Then that's agreed." 
 
 "Oh, but everything is going wrong I'm so un- 
 happy." 
 
 "You're getting nervous, that's what it is," he 
 answered in his strong kindly voice. "I expect 
 George is down on his luck. He's had his cable, 
 I suppose?" 
 
 "I don't know. Something came. He didn't 
 tell me whether it was a telegram or the cable, 
 and I was afraid to ask. " 
 
 "Well, the Dock case is finished, verdict against 
 him, heavy costs." 
 
 It took her by the throat. A cry escaped her. 
 "Against him? Oh, no, no are you sure?" 
 
 "It's in the evening paper you'd better look." 
 He went towards the one lying on the sofa. 
 
 "It's not there. I looked all through it." 
 
 "It's an early edition," he threw it aside, 
 "you'll find it in the next one; that's where I saw 
 it. No one reckoned it would go that way." 
 
 " Oh, what will he do ? " She broke down utterly 
 and sobbed. 
 
 He liked her for it. "This is a nice woman, " he 
 thought. " She's got a heart, and keeps it in work- 
 ing order." 
 
 "Oh, dear Mr. Wendern!" she wailed. 
 
 He watched her distress almost triumphantly. 
 "Look here," he said, "don't you fret; it doesn't 
 matter doesn't matter a lost button." 
 
 259
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "But it does it's so cruel you don't know 
 what he is. " 
 
 "I can make a good guess guess even what he 
 is to a woman." 
 
 She dried her tears, but her brain whirled. 
 "Oh, you don't understand," she said vehemently. 
 "He meant to pay every one people belonging 
 to the Syndicate and all sorts of other people 
 now to-night; they were to have supper here 
 first, and then that's what this party means. " 
 
 "Well! George was always a maniac, but I 
 never thought he would count his chickens be- 
 fore they were hatched in this fashion. How did 
 he think he was going to get the money if he wasn't 
 sure of the Dock verdict, and that's been going 
 off the rails for him the last day or two?" 
 
 It seemed part of the cruelty of the hour that he 
 should take it so easily. "I don't know. There's 
 a man downstairs a man in possession," it had 
 a frightening sound to her, but it only seemed to 
 amuse him. 
 
 " Hi ! George is going the whole way along while 
 he's about it." 
 
 " But if things are wrong with the Syndicate and 
 the Dock verdict is against him, he must be 
 ruined. " 
 
 "Yes, George is about ruined, I can tell you. 
 Where has he gone, do you happen to know?" 
 
 "To the Grosvenor Hotel to meet some one." 
 260
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Of course, I ought to have remembered, but 
 I've been taken up with something just as exciting 
 as George's business. " 
 
 "He said he had an appointment with Mr. 
 Lant he told me to tell you so. " 
 
 "Why, yes, he wrote about it told me him- 
 self, but I'd forgotten. Well, he won't find Lant. 
 Lant took a train for Southampton as soon as 
 he heard the Derryford verdict." 
 
 "But there's a meeting of the Syndicate to- 
 morrow, I saw one of the notices lying about. " 
 
 "Lant won't be there. He's given it the slip 
 and means George to have it out with them alone. " 
 
 "Oh, it's too much, it's too much," she wrung 
 her hands. 
 
 "Look here, Mrs. Berwick, I tell you again not 
 to worry so, it's just waste of good living time." 
 
 " But all sorts of people are coming to this mad 
 party coming to be paid, they expect it, he told 
 me so; it is why he asked them. " Then the mean- 
 ing of the terror that had possessed her betrayed 
 itself. "He means, if everything goes wrong, to 
 kill himself perhaps he has already I know it 
 I know it well, for he took something from that 
 drawer, his pistols were in there. He meant to 
 kill Lant if things went wrong, but if Lant has 
 gone, he'll " she couldn't put it into words again. 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 261
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Oh, don't you understand," she cried, mad- 
 dened and terrified, "he means to shoot himself." 
 
 "Not he. George is made of finer stuff than 
 that." 
 
 "I can't think why he wants me to receive the 
 guests and bring them down if he is not back. " 
 She told him of the telephone message. 
 
 "When did he start?" 
 
 "Three-quarters of an hour before you came." 
 
 "Has he got the motor out?" 
 
 "Yes he went in it." 
 
 "Wouldn't take him more than ten minutes to 
 get there," Parker said thoughtfully. "He ought 
 to be back here again. It's that telephone busi- 
 ness I don't understand. What the mischief is 
 he after?" 
 
 "Hark ' she said suddenly, "I thought I 
 heard him." 
 
 Parker went to the hall, opened the front door, 
 and looked out. He came back shaking his head. 
 "He's not there. Look here, I think I'd better go 
 after him, I'll track him, trust me. Perhaps he's 
 gone to his club. Anyhow, you may be sure of one 
 thing, Mrs: Berwick, I'll bring him back safe and 
 sound." But his face had grown long and anx- 
 ious. "I believe I'd give my life for George," he 
 added. 
 
 "And I would." 
 
 262
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "Then there are two of us who'd do it. " 
 
 "You do love him," she said with a spasm of 
 relief at something being done. " I can feel that. " 
 
 "Why, yes, there isn't any doubt about it." 
 
 "And I don't wonder, he's so good." 
 
 "He's good enough a flick of the devil in him 
 too, and he's all the better for it." 
 
 "Every one is. I wouldn't be wholly good my- 
 self for all the world. " 
 
 "Well, you don't look it." 
 
 "Oh " she gave a sorry little laugh as she 
 walked with him to the door. 
 
 "But I shouldn't mind taking you further?" 
 He stopped and put his hand on her shoulder with 
 heavy affection. 
 
 "I shouldn't mind going. Find George Wen- 
 dern, save him bring him back, and I'll_do any- 
 thing in the world for you. " 
 
 "That's agreed eh?" 
 
 "Yes, yes " she was hurrying him away. 
 
 "I'll do it," he repeated; he was in the hall, 
 on the door-step now; "you'll see and look here, 
 you shall give me a kiss if I do, " he turned away 
 sheepishly, he was unaccustomed to love-making. 
 "But I wonder what the mischief he's after?" he 
 added anxiously to himself as he left the house and 
 hailed a taxi. 
 
 She sat down again with her hands clasped and 
 263
 
 George Wendern 
 
 listened listened. It wasn't possible to hear 
 things passing the front of the house, but the room 
 door was open, and a hoot or some extra sound 
 from a motor might penetrate to ears as keen as 
 hers were now; and from one side of the room 
 the whole length of the hall, could be seen. 
 
 "Oh, if he would come, if he would come!" 
 
 But there was no sign. Gradually she grew 
 calmer; Parker's visit and his attitude towards 
 Wendern had done her good. If he found him all 
 would be well. 
 
 "There's nothing to be gained by worrying," 
 she said at last, "and if I have to receive these 
 men I must pull myself together. " 
 
 She looked in at the dining-room once more. 
 They were busy removing the little platform that 
 had been erected for the band. Rogers explained 
 that the leader had been, and said that the music 
 would be too loud; it had better be put on the 
 landing half-way towards the drawing-room, where 
 a space projected roofed in with glass. There were 
 palms, low much-cushioned seats, and brass hang- 
 ing-lamps there that gave it a picturesque but 
 cheap Eastern suggestion. 
 
 "Yes, I think it will be much better," she said, 
 and stood for a little time aimlessly watching 
 the change being effected. 
 
 Eight o'clock struck. "You'll want your din- 
 264
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 ner, ma'am, even if you are coming in to supper. 
 It will be ready, I expect. " She hated the familiar 
 tone of the servants. 
 
 "I don't want any. Or ask them to send just 
 a little soup to my room, and to tell me immedi- 
 ately if Mr. Wendern returns. " She went slowly 
 upstairs. 
 
 "Looks a bit chippy," Rogers remarked; 
 "daresay she feels like the rest of us. I must say 
 I'm a good deal interested in this game myself, 
 for I don't see how it's being played or what he's 
 up to. But, I mean to stand by him well, as 
 long as it's possible." 
 
 Mrs. Berwick was utterly exhausted, and gulped 
 the soup down gratefully. Then she dressed. 
 She looked pale, but pallor was becoming to her, 
 and the fright and excitement in her eyes made 
 them bright and attractive. The satin dress fitted 
 her slim figure perfectly, and a velvet fillet round 
 her head threw up the fairness of her hair; she 
 drew a thin lace scarf over her shoulders, and fast- 
 ened it with a glittering star the lace was soften- 
 ing and modest-looking, she thought. 
 
 Nine o'clock. She was quite ready. It was 
 nearly dark, the summer night was beginning. 
 She looked out of the window her room was a 
 front one on the third floor, and could see up and 
 down the main road. Scores of motors whizzed 
 
 265
 
 George Wendern 
 
 by, their lights flashing, but none stopped before 
 the house, though several turned into the private 
 road that runs in front of Princes Gate. 
 
 "Oh, where can he be?" she cried; but again 
 a belief in Parker finding him, and making things 
 right, reassured her; and she thought, not without 
 some gleam of pleasurable excitement, of the sup- 
 per-party and the manner in which she would 
 receive the guests if it fell to her to do it. 
 
 But time sped on; no motor stopped before the 
 house. Then the door of the room behind her 
 as she still craned her neck out of window was 
 opened, she started and turned quickly. It 
 went through her that although she had not heard 
 it, nor seen any boy approach, a telegram might 
 have come with news, or the telephone brought 
 it. "Oh, what is it?" she breathlessly asked the 
 maid who entered. 
 
 "Miss Fiffer says could you possibly see her?" 
 
 "Miss Fiffer!" What could Katherine want 
 at this time of night? "Where is she?" 
 
 "In the morning-room; she asked if she might 
 go there. " 
 
 Mrs. Berwick went down to her. The window 
 was still open as she had left it; the grey shadows 
 seemed to come trooping in softly and very 
 swiftly. A small silk-shaded lamp on the writing- 
 table had been switched on, but there was no 
 
 266
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 other light. Katherine, tall and slight, was stand- 
 ing half-way between the door and the window. 
 She wore a long black chiffon cloak, it looked like 
 a dark cloud fallen from the sky and wrapping her 
 round. The evening dress beneath it was evi- 
 dently dark too, but there were some pearls round 
 her neck and in her bosom a cluster of small white 
 flowers the cloak opened and showed them. She 
 went forward as Mrs. Berwick entered, and looked 
 with surprise at the grey satin and the velvet bows 
 with the gleaming paste buckles. "Oh, do you 
 mind my coming do forgive me," she said. "I 
 felt I must see you, but I will not keep you a 
 minute. You are going somewhere?" 
 
 "No. Mr. Wendern is out " 
 
 "I know. That's why I came. It is you that 
 I wanted to see. He passed me near Victoria this 
 evening about half-past five, I think. His face 
 looked stern and very worried ; he turned it away 
 and didn't see me, he seemed to be coming from 
 the hotel not from the station. I came back 
 and went over to the Park and sat there. I should 
 have come sooner and asked for you, but I saw Mr. 
 Parker come and go. I went in I had to, for 
 dinner, or mother would have worried, but I 
 knew Mr. Wendern hadn't come back, and I 
 couldn't bear it any longer." She took Mrs. 
 Berwick's hands and drew her down to the sofa. 
 
 267
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "I want you to tell me about him, his face fright- 
 ened me, he looked so miserable." She said it 
 almost in a whisper, her voice trembled with ex- 
 citement. 
 
 " He is he's heartbroken. " 
 
 "Because he has lost his lawsuit?" 
 
 "Because because of everything," Mrs. Ber- 
 wick answered, hating the woman who had been 
 false to him, "he is ruined " 
 
 "That's why I came" she held on to the back 
 of the sofa with one hand and put the other to 
 her throat "we heard it an hour ago." She 
 stopped for a moment and threw her head a little 
 way back. Her face looked very beautiful, but 
 drawn and white as if she had been going through 
 some suppressed torture of which she refused to 
 speak. Mrs. Berwick saw it and it hardened her. 
 
 "Why should you care?" she asked coldly. 
 "You are not going to marry him. You don't love 
 him." 
 
 "I do, I do why should I hide it now, or pre- 
 tend." She leant forward and took Mrs. Ber- 
 wick's hands. "We are two women, together 
 and alone oh, the comfort of speaking out." 
 
 " But you are going to marry Lord Kenton. " 
 
 "No no, I'm not." 
 
 "Do you mean he has broken it off?" 
 
 "I broke it off." 
 
 268
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "You! but he's a marquis now, he has 
 100,000 a-year." 
 
 " I know that's why. " 
 
 "That's why?" Mrs. Berwick could not be- 
 lieve her ears. 
 
 " My money isn't necessary to him any longer 
 why should I marry him?" 
 
 "You didn't love him?" 
 
 Katherine's voice was soft and full of passion as 
 she answered, "No, I never loved him never for 
 a single moment. I love George Wendern, and 
 no one else in the world. When Lord Derbyshire 
 came into the title and heaps of money from his 
 uncle, I told him there was no longer any need for 
 me to marry him; that I had only taken him be- 
 cause I wanted my fortune to be of use in the 
 world. He was away at the funeral, but I wrote 
 to him, and we had it out this morning, walking 
 up and down the garden. You saw us? I told 
 him there was only one man I loved, and I was 
 breaking my heart for him longing for him 
 dying for him. Oh, is it too late do you think 
 it's too late?" 
 
 "How could you refuse him?" Mrs. Berwick 
 was wonderstruck. 
 
 "He knows George Wendern knows he was 
 very angry, but he knows why I did it and he's 
 everything in this wide world to me, I love him 
 you can't dream how much I love him." 
 
 269
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "I can," came the quick answer, "everyone 
 does, I do " 
 
 "You?" Katherine exclaimed, and looked at 
 Mrs. Berwick, at the beautiful dress and sparkling 
 ornaments, while some fright stole over her face, 
 as if she thought there was a meaning to this 
 elaborate finery. "You love him does he know 
 it?" 
 
 "No, and he never will. I tell you, so that you 
 may trust me. I'm going to marry his friend, Joe 
 Parker, but there's no one in the world like Mr. 
 Wendern. Oh, if he would come back safely " 
 
 " Safely ? " Katherine echoed, taking alarm from 
 the tone. "What do you mean? He looked like 
 a man who was going to do something desperate. " 
 
 "He is. I know it. He said he was a rudder- 
 less ship," Mrs. Berwick answered, "for he has 
 lost everything in the world he went to the Gros- 
 venor Hotel to meet some one who has played him 
 false there too. Joe Parker went after him " 
 
 "But what does this mean?" Katherine asked, 
 touching the grey satin. "And all the flowers in 
 the hall and on the stairs, the place looks as if he 
 were giving a party?" 
 
 "He is to the people to whom he owes money; 
 he has invited them to come with some mad 
 idea that he would be able to pay them. But he 
 can't now." 
 
 "But he can. I want to lay all I have at his 
 270
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 feet, perhaps he will walk over it to me," Kath- 
 erine said humbly. 
 
 "He wouldn't take it. He wouldn't touch a 
 penny of it," the voice was full of cruel bitterness. 
 "You don't understand him as I do. If you had 
 loved him enough he might have been saved, he 
 would have lived for you; but you've killed him 
 killed the man you love " she stopped, for the 
 fright of an hour ago took possession of her as if 
 to add to it the clock struck ten. And still no 
 Wendern. 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "I don't know I can't tell you. Joe Parker 
 may bring him back, or he may be too late " 
 she drew away from Katherine shuddering. "He 
 seemed to think he would find him, but " 
 
 "But?" the lips had grown white. 
 
 "He may be dead dead already and if he 
 isn't he means to kill himself I know it." 
 
 "What can we do?" She was half paralysed 
 with terror. 
 
 Mrs. Berwick considered for a few desperate 
 moments. " I have an idea in case he does come 
 back write to him, a single line will do; say you 
 love him; say anything you can that will make him 
 want to live. Tell him you have broken with Lord 
 Kenton we'll put it on his place at the supper- 
 table. If he comes he'll find it." She remem- 
 bered his last words at the telephone, there was 
 
 271
 
 George Wendern 
 
 some mystery in them, some threat of tragedy, 
 this change in Katherine might avert. 
 
 "If? why do you go on repeating that word?" 
 Katherine exclaimed, infected, maddened by the 
 dread in the other's voice. "I don't believe he 
 would invite all these people and let them come 
 for you to face if he didn't mean to come he will 
 come. " 
 
 "You are splendid, you are like Joe Parker, he 
 said it too that George Wendern was made of 
 finer stuff. " She held out her hand. 
 
 Katherine took it as a beginning of the forgive- 
 ness for which she hungered. "Let me wait with 
 you he may come he may be on the way if I 
 could see him " she said humbly, yet with the 
 proud set back of her head that Wendern had loved. 
 
 "Oh, if you could," Mrs. Berwick echoed. 
 
 They sat together, looking at the clock, silent, 
 listening, but as the minutes went on, with no sign 
 of his returning, the fright and sickness at their 
 hearts became too terrible for words. They rose 
 and looked at each other and stood irresolute. 
 "Come and write," Mrs. Berwick said at last. 
 
 Katherine went to the table and, kneeling by it, 
 wrote on the sheet of paper put before her 
 
 Is it too late? I love you I love you, and I want you. 
 Forgive me, and take me to the shanty on the other side of 
 the world. 
 
 YOUR KATHERINE. 
 272
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 She folded it and put it in an envelope. "I'll 
 put *K' in the corner," she said as she directed it. 
 "It may catch his eye and these," she took the 
 white flowers from her bosom and kissed them, 
 "put them with it." 
 
 Mrs. Berwick took her hand. "Come. You 
 shall see." 
 
 They went to the supper-room; the servants 
 had finished, only a single electric lamp was 
 switched on. The long table was gorgeously laid, 
 the room a mass of flowers. A forest of trees, 
 orange-trees chiefly, at the back, behind the chair 
 where George Wendern was to sit; through them 
 was a little pathway to the door that led out on to 
 the lawn. "He said he would come in that way," 
 Mrs. Berwick explained. "I suppose he thought 
 it would be better than walking the whole length 
 of the room. " 
 
 But Katherine divined the reason. If this sup- 
 per was to be the end of all things, he wanted to 
 take a last look at the lawn they had so often 
 walked up and down at the sycamore-tree they 
 had lingered beneath in the happy days of the 
 early summer. "He knows I love him," she 
 thought. "Perhaps he felt it would give him 
 courage to look up at our windows before he faced 
 these people, or " she remembered that he had 
 told her how the lights in them had seemed to look 
 towards him at night with friendly eyes. 
 
 273
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Mrs. Berwick reached down a little bronze 
 stand, a couple of inches high; it was on a shelf 
 near the fireplace. "We will put the note on 
 it," she said, "and the blossoms with it by his 
 plate." 
 
 "If I watch," Katherine said, "I shall see him 
 enter; even if it is very dark I shall make out his 
 figure. Oh! shall I ever hear him speak to me 
 again or be forgiven?" 
 
 Then a thought struck Mrs. Berwick "You 
 might waylay him?" 
 
 But at that the girl's pride stepped in. "No, I 
 couldn't," she answered, "he must have my note 
 first, and if it is too late it must be so. But, oh ! 
 if I could get some sign to-night " 
 
 "Watch from your window; you will be able 
 to see the dining-room darkened again when the 
 supper is over?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then go down to your garden and stand by the 
 little gate. If all is well I'll send him to you. " 
 
 "But if not? If he is hard and tears up the 
 letter, you won't let him know that I am there 
 waiting?" 
 
 "I will come to you, I can easily and unless 
 he wants to come, he shall never know." 
 
 Still Katherine hesitated. " Promise, " she said, 
 "not to tell him if he is cruel." 
 
 274
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "I swear he shall never know." 
 
 "But if he won't you you will come and 
 tell me?" 
 
 "I will come." 
 
 Then Katherine took Mrs. Berwick's hand and 
 hesitated. Her heart was too full of weariness 
 and dread and misery to feel more than relieved 
 and grateful, and she had never been quite sure 
 that she liked Mrs. Berwick. Now in this crisis 
 she could only think of the man she loved and 
 had probably lost, but, with something akin to 
 self-reproach, she stooped and kissed the woman 
 who seemed like a spar thrown from the wreck. 
 
 "You've been very good to me," she said. 
 "I'll remember it all my life." She drew the 
 black cloud-like wrap close about her and hurried 
 away; it seemed as if darkness followed her. 
 
 275
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 ELEVEN o'clock. George Wendern had not 
 come. Mrs. Berwick was in the drawing- 
 room receiving the guests. A strange motley crew 
 city speculators, the expectant shareholders, 
 fat men and thin, Lazarus the Jew, Mr. Bulson 
 looking very gentlemanlike; Digby, truculent still 
 but curious and interested; and in the midst Sir 
 John Carneford, evidently embarrassed at being 
 where he was, and like the rest astounded at 
 finding no host, only a dainty-looking hostess in 
 grey satin, apologetic and very anxious to pro- 
 pitiate them. 
 
 "Think I understand you're not Mrs. Wen- 
 dern?" a lean man inquired. 
 
 "No, I'm Mrs. Berwick," she said with what 
 she hoped was an easy but haughty smile, "a 
 great friend of Mr. Wendern's. " 
 
 "No doubt, a very great friend," whispered a 
 City man, who took himself to be humourous and 
 fascinating. 
 
 They talked a little to each other, not very 
 easily, and stared round almost suspiciously at 
 the handsome room. 
 
 276
 
 George Wendern Gave a Party 
 
 At a quarter past eleven Rogers threw open 
 the double doors of the drawing-room and an- 
 nounced supper. 
 
 " Do you mean to say we are to begin without 
 him?" Digby asked, eager for the feast but ready 
 to bark on principle. 
 
 "He will be here directly," Mrs. Berwick an- 
 swered; she hesitated and waved her grey fan 
 to and fro, wondering what the procedure should 
 be. 
 
 Sir John Carneford stepped forward, "Pray 
 allow me," he offered her his arm, "Dear me, 
 music too, " he said as they passed the band which 
 had just installed itself on the landing, "Wendern 
 is treating us very handsomely. " 
 
 The others followed sheepishly, "I suppose he 
 means to come?" They whispered and hesitated 
 at the door speaking about the article in the finan- 
 cial paper; only two of them appeared to have 
 seen it, but the others were told of it. 
 
 "I'm sure your place should be next to Mr. 
 Wendern," Mrs. Berwick said with one of her 
 tactful smiles as they entered the supper-room, 
 regretting that Sir John was not to sit by her. 
 "His very great friend Mr. Parker will be here 
 directly," she wondered how much longer her 
 voice would hold out. "He is to sit by me." 
 
 The band played softly the waltz from Faust. 
 
 277
 
 George Wendern 
 
 Mrs. Berwick had chosen it; she loved Faust. 
 The guests sat down slowly. The scene appeared 
 to hypnotise them. There were shaded lights 
 on the table, but the decorations were so low that 
 she could see plainly Wendern's place at the other 
 end, and the little note on the bronze stand with 
 the blossoms beside it. The orange-trees beyond 
 and the palms almost suggested a tropical forest 
 with the night upon them, for they were dark and 
 the effect was not spoilt by lights among them, 
 only the yellow of an orange showed here and there 
 and high up near the top of the trees patches of 
 deep grey sky glinted through, a half mysterious 
 background to the flaunting gorgeous feast. 
 
 The men looked at the dishes curiously, ate, 
 and were silent at first, but they evidently thought 
 it the right thing to make occasional remarks to 
 Mrs. Berwick. As the wine went to their heads, 
 they treated her with less deference and more friend- 
 liness, presently one or two of them even ventured 
 a joke that was at least in doubtful taste. Luckily 
 Mr. Bulson's attentions were a sort of safety valve, 
 and the satin dress and the air of aloofness with 
 which she waved the feather fan kept the men in 
 order. 
 
 "Handsome room," one of them said to his 
 neighbour when they began to be more at ease. 
 
 "Very," the speaker was the lean man, he 
 278
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 looked like a money lender; "pictures must have 
 run into a good bit of money. " 
 
 "May have picked them up ? " another suggested. 
 
 And the supper went on. 
 
 "Very rum move getting us here to-night," a 
 little man near the other end remarked, addressing 
 himself to Sir John Carneford. 
 
 "Most extraordinary," the grave cultured tone 
 had a certain effect on the assembly. "In fact 
 I'm wholly at a loss to understand it. " 
 
 "Australian manners, perhaps." 
 
 "Well, it's to be hoped he hasn't taken a trip 
 back there?" came from far down the table. 
 
 "What's your opinion, ma'am?" 
 
 "He will join us directly," Mrs. Berwick an- 
 swered haughtily. 
 
 "Meanwhile he has given us a splendid supper." 
 
 "And excellent champagne," put in Mr. Bulson, 
 "of which I flatter myself I'm a judge." 
 
 Still no sign of Wendern. Mrs. Berwick was 
 growing sick with fear. She wondered how many 
 more dishes there were to come, to fill the terrible 
 moments. 
 
 "I think I know that thing they're playing," 
 a man said to her presently, when after a pause 
 the band had struck up again. "I've heard my 
 wife play it at home, do you happen to know what 
 it is?" ' 
 
 279
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "It's The Steersman's Song from 'The Flying 
 Dutchman,'" she answered coldly, and in her ears 
 rang the words, "a rudderless ship, a rudderless 
 ship." She had marked it with a sort of despera- 
 tion when she looked over the programme the 
 leader of the band suggested. 
 
 Sir John was losing his patience, "It is really 
 a most extraordinary proceeding of Mr.Wendern's, 
 inviting us to supper and then not being here to 
 receive us," he repeated. 
 
 The champagne in the bottle near the man op- 
 posite was getting low, and he answered thickly, 
 "Handsome lady to do it, what more do you 
 want? I vote that we drink her health." 
 
 "Well, I won't refuse to do that, for I shouldn't 
 think she felt very easy," Digby said with a dis- 
 agreeable smile. He sat near the middle of the 
 table. 
 
 "Oh, please not, please not," she entreated, 
 "Mr. Wendern will be here directly, you must 
 drink his." 
 
 "We'll see him first and ask what he thinks of 
 the article in the paper this morning. " 
 
 "Of course it would have been a very different 
 one if he had bribed them." Mrs. Berwick re- 
 membered Wendern's remark; she always picked 
 up a hint quickly. 
 
 Mr. Bulson leant forward, he, too, was growing 
 280
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 more familiar, "Did Wendern give you that dia- 
 mond star?" he whispered. 
 
 "It was a gift from my husband," she looked 
 grave, as became an awakened memory. 
 
 "That chap down there is a diamond merchant, 
 he'll tell you what it's worth to a shilling. " 
 
 "Oh, I don't want it valued." It had cost a 
 guinea in Regent Street: she pulled the lace scarf 
 nervously over it. 
 
 "Well, I don't care whether the South African 
 markets are upset by rubber or not," Digby was 
 heard saying a few minutes later. "What I want 
 to know is, are we going to get our money back to- 
 night? Or what's to be the upshot of getting us 
 here in this manner I believe we're all in the 
 same boat?" 
 
 "We've signed transfers, but we haven't got our 
 money. " 
 
 "And it strikes me we shan't." 
 
 "Perhaps this supper is thrown to us as a sop." 
 
 "If he's playing tricks I'll be down on him, he 
 shan't gag me with his stuff, " Digby thumped his 
 fist on the table and took another helping of 
 mayonnaise. 
 
 "Quite right, serve him right if we smash up his 
 place." 
 
 "Hush, remember the lady," Mr. Bulson said 
 in a horrified voice. 
 
 281
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Perhaps if the truth's known she's no better 
 off than we're likely to be. " 
 
 "Oh, but I am I am," Mrs. Berwick hardly 
 knew what she was saying. "Please don't be 
 so agitated, gentlemen " she was listening still 
 to the strains of "The Flying Dutchman," rising 
 and falling above the din of the table. 
 
 "If he's fooling us, by God " a bull-necked 
 man began. 
 
 "No, no," she said, raising her voice so as to be 
 heard, "you'll be satisfied, all of you, before you 
 leave the table. " 
 
 But she realised that the supper was more than 
 halfway through. 
 
 "Well, I hope we shall." 
 
 "I doubt it," another thick voice said. 
 
 " So do I and I should like to know where he is ? " 
 
 "I shouldn't be surprised if an express train 
 to-night and a ship to-morrow is the answer." 
 
 A cry of satisfaction came from Mrs. Berwick's 
 lips. Joe Parker entered, and stood for a moment 
 hesitating near the door. "Here is one of Mr. 
 Wendern's oldest friends from Australia," she 
 cried. "Perhaps he has brought him?" but her 
 heart sank when she saw that he was alone. 
 
 "Good evening, gentlemen," he said, trying 
 to put a good face on things. "I hope you've left 
 some supper for me?" 
 
 282
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 "A little late, like the host," one of them re- 
 marked. 
 
 "Did you find him?" she asked in a low voice 
 as he moved to the place on her right. 
 
 He answered her back gloomily, "No." 
 
 Quite suddenly her self-control gave way and 
 a cry escaped her, "He's dead, he's dead, I know 
 it, he has killed himself, or he has been killed in a 
 motor smash," she cried. 
 
 The faces turned towards her aghast, and for a 
 moment there was a dead silence, save for the band 
 on the stairs which seemed to be louder and more 
 distinct; the servants stood still, petrified and 
 scared, the man in possession looked through the 
 crack of the open door. Then Joe Parker's voice 
 was heard, strong and firm, as he stood up to speak, 
 "George Wendern is not dead, and he's not stay- 
 ing away if he can help it, I'm certain of that, he's 
 not the sort; and if he'd been smashed up in the 
 motor I should have heard of it with what I've 
 been doing. " He sat down to his supper and let 
 them talk. 
 
 "Is this a plant, then?" 
 
 "That's it you bet." 
 
 "Rather neat, I call it," came through a squeaky 
 laugh. 
 
 "A trick " 
 
 "While he gets quietly off." 
 283
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "And I believe you are in it," the bull-necked 
 man shook his fist at Mrs. Berwick. 
 
 "Part of his game," another voice said. 
 
 "You may always lay odds on a woman know- 
 ing." 
 
 A tide was setting in against her. Parker sprang 
 to his feet again and turned upon them with the 
 look of a man whose fists might be dangerous, 
 "You slow down, every one of you," he said, "or 
 I'll make you." 
 
 "Where's Wendern?" 
 
 "Yes, where's Wendern?" 
 
 "Has he levanted?" 
 
 "And what does this affair mean?" 
 
 Digby dashed his empty glass to the ground, 
 "The whole thing is a put-up job," he 
 shouted. "Look here, gentlemen, I'm going to 
 speak." 
 
 They had risen to their feet, their faces were 
 turned indignantly towards Mrs. Berwick and 
 Parker. The only calm man among them was 
 Sir John Carneford. They were in no mood to 
 listen to Digby, each man wanted to be heard 
 above the rest. 
 
 "Where's Wendern?" 
 
 "Where's Wendern?" they shouted. 
 
 " Oh, we would give the whole world to know," 
 
 284
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 Mrs. Berwick gasped, and shivered as the broken 
 glass was gathered up. 
 
 "Ay, that we would," Parker said under his 
 breath, but it was heard. 
 
 "You two know well enough." 
 
 "And so will we before we move from this 
 table," the thick voice put in. 
 
 "We'll break everything before we go," Digby 
 shouted, and threw down another glass. " He 
 shan't fool us for nothing." 
 
 Quite unnoticed Wendern came through the 
 orange-trees at the back. He looked calm and 
 collected, his head was erect, his shoulders well put 
 back, a curious light in his eyes. He stood at the 
 place laid for him, looking at the rowdy, blatant 
 set of men he had gathered together; then he sent 
 a little confident smile across the flowers to Mrs. 
 Berwick; but she was too frightened to take 
 her eyes away from the excited crowd of angry 
 faces. 
 
 Parker, the only one who had seen him, raised 
 his hand and said, "Well, if you want George 
 Wendern, he is there." 
 
 The noise ceased abruptly, the faces turned to 
 the end of the table at which he stood, waiting 
 for their recognition. 
 
 A cry of joy that ended in an agonized hysteri- 
 cal laugh, came from Mrs. Berwick. 
 
 285
 
 George Wendern 
 
 The rest looked at him in bewildered silence. 
 
 "I am late, gentlemen, but Mrs. Berwick I 
 know has done the honours for me. I have 
 motored a great many miles in the last six hours 
 in your interests, and should have been back in 
 time to receive you but for the indiscretion of a 
 tyre. I apologise for my absence." 
 
 They recovered a little from their surprise. 
 "I should think so, inviting us to supper and not 
 being here," came an angry growl. 
 
 "A most extraordinary proceeding," Sir John 
 said severely. 
 
 "What does it mean?" Digby asked. 
 
 "What about our shares?" 
 
 "We want to know about this Syndicate?" the 
 man next Joe Parker said. 
 
 "Yes, and at once. We hear it's a wild-cat 
 scheme 
 
 "Nothing else." 
 
 Wendern looked from one to the other till the 
 tumult had somewhat subsided. 
 
 "Sit down, gentlemen," he said, and they 
 obeyed him. He remained standing himself, he 
 raised his head a little higher while he spoke, 
 calmly but defiantly. "You shall know about the 
 Syndicate. It is worthless, and a swindle 
 
 They sprang from their chairs with rage, they 
 seemed about to go forward and seize him. He 
 
 286
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 put up his hands as if to hold them back, and said 
 sternly, "Be quiet! Your money is lost so is mine." 
 
 "What's that to us, we want ours." 
 
 "You knew it was a swindle all along," Digby 
 shouted. 
 
 "I knew it a week ago, when Lant arrived in 
 England; not before." 
 
 There were groans and sounds of derision. 
 
 Wendern went on. "Lant told me then that the 
 money subscribed was spent, and he had come to 
 England with a reconstruction scheme to get more. 
 I refused to hear of this at first. Then I consented 
 not to oppose it on condition that he paid off the 
 little shareholders some of them had staked all 
 they possessed. They had their money back 
 yesterday; they have learnt a lesson and are 
 safe." 
 
 They were subdued now, waiting for what was to 
 come. 
 
 "But what about us?" one of them asked. 
 
 "You all came into the Syndicate as a specula- 
 tion, but on the strength of my name; that is why 
 I have called you together. The rest those other 
 shareholders who remain unpaid, and who are not 
 here, came in through Christopher Lant, let them 
 settle their accounts with him. For your shares 
 you have executed transfers. I presume you have 
 them with you?" 
 
 287
 
 George Wendern 
 
 There were sounds of assent. 
 
 " I wanted to take them up and send you away 
 to-night with the money in your pockets " 
 
 "Are you going to do it?" 
 
 " that is why I invited you all, a party of a 
 sort I expect that has never been given before; 
 it was a queer fancy of mine. " He looked at them 
 curiously, they seemed almost to amuse him. 
 
 "Are we going to have the money ?" Digby asked 
 in a bullying tone. 
 
 Wendern took no notice, and went on. "A 
 lawsuit in which I had two hundred thousand 
 pounds at stake was about to be decided " 
 
 There were sounds of coming disappointment. 
 
 "That is why I called you together, with the 
 Derryford Dock suit " 
 
 "It went against you it is in the evening 
 paper ' 
 
 "Yes, gentlemen, it went against me. Lant 
 promised that if it had not been decided, or if it 
 had and went against me, he would lend me 
 enough to pay off your shares. I was to see him 
 at the Grosvenor Hotel this evening. That is 
 why I was not here to meet you " 
 
 "Mr. Lant's quite right he's a gentleman " 
 
 "Has he done it?" a tall man inquired, standing 
 up to put his question. 
 
 "No! Perhaps he saw the evening paper too. 
 288
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 He is on board his yacht, out in the open sea by 
 this time, and has left me to face the music. " 
 
 Parker, who had risen to his feet and stood look- 
 ing at his friend in amazement, broke in with 
 "Look here, George, I've something to say " 
 
 "You be quiet," barked a man near him. 
 
 Sir John held up his hand. "Gentlemen," he 
 said, struck by Wendern's manner, "I feel sure 
 that our host has something to add, let us listen 
 to him. " 
 
 Wendern looked round at the strange throng 
 and went on with a little smile in his eyes. "Be- 
 fore I went, I made up my mind if Lant played us 
 false to pay the penalty 
 
 "Penalty?" a voice cried, and all the faces were 
 curious. 
 
 "Last week one of the shareholders Mr. 
 Digby, I think said that directors of fraudulent 
 concerns ought to suffer capital punishment. I 
 entirely agreed with him, and promised that he 
 should come to my execution." 
 
 "Oh! dear Mr. Wendern," Mrs. Berwick cried; 
 "not now! the letter and flowers!" for Wen- 
 dern had not yet noticed them, and she had tried 
 in vain to make a sign. 
 
 "George, let me speak " Parker insisted. 
 
 But Wendern took no notice. "If Lant had 
 kept his word you would have found me ready to 
 
 289
 
 George Wendern 
 
 hand you your money, if he broke it I determined 
 you should see a dead man," he put his hand in 
 his pocket; a cry came from Mrs. Berwick's lips 
 again. He seemed suddenly to remember her 
 presence with dismay, and leaning forward and 
 speaking down the table between the two rows 
 of men, he said in a kindly tone to Parker, "Joe, 
 she oughtn't to be here, take her away." 
 
 "Oh no," she cried, "let me stay, do let me stay 
 and oh, do look at the letter and flowers by your 
 place." He looked down at them absently with- 
 out touching them or taking in that they were for 
 him. 
 
 "She is all right," Parker called back, "and I 
 want to speak " 
 
 But Wendern waved him to silence again and 
 went on. "Lant had started for Southampton 
 half an hour before I went to keep our appointment. 
 I calculated the distance there and back I had a 
 swift motor and fled after him you begin to see 
 why I was late? When I reached Southampton 
 he was on board his yacht, already out of sight 
 let him go " he stopped for a moment and his 
 tone changed. "On the road back a tyre gave way, 
 as I told you, or I should have been here an hour 
 ago. It was made right, and on the last few miles 
 I thought out things once more, and felt that the 
 alternative I had imagined would be an easy way 
 
 290
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 out for me, but a coward's way a bit of cheap 
 melodrama to which this supper had been a garish 
 prelude. The grey sky was full of stars, and as I 
 whirled under them along a road with tall trees 
 on either side, like giants reproaching me, I thought 
 of my home, thousands of miles away in Australia. 
 The great distances seemed to be calling me, to 
 be sending me messages and saying but it is 
 no good telling you you would think it sentiment 
 or bombast. What I want to say is this " and 
 again his voice changed, "I am strong, I can fight 
 the world, and have its best endowment health 
 and experience. Every one of you can afford to 
 lose your money, or to wait. You shall not lose, 
 if you will wait?" 
 
 Gradually stillness had come over the room, ex- 
 cept for Wendern's voice; the faces of the men 
 were turned towards him in wonder; but at his 
 last words there was a sound of almost involuntary 
 impatience. Parker, who all the time had been 
 struggling to speak in vain, managed to put in 
 "George, they needn't wait, let me have a 
 word?" 
 
 " Be quiet, Joe, " Wendern said, and looked at his 
 guests again. "You are responsible men, and 
 should take your luck for good or ill. Wait! 
 Your money shall come back to you with inter- 
 est." 
 
 291
 
 George Wendern 
 
 But the spell had been broken by the pause; 
 there were sounds of derision and incredulity. 
 
 Digby's voice was heard growling, "I'm not 
 going to wait for one and the others shan't, if 
 I know it. " 
 
 And Mrs. Berwick, saying under her breath, 
 "Dear Mr. Wendern, it's so like you." 
 
 Then Sir John Carneford rose to his feet, 
 "Gentlemen," he said, "Mr. Wendern is doing a 
 most extraordinary thing, and one he feels and 
 intends to be Quixotic. You all of you know, as 
 well as I do, that directors, as a rule, do not even 
 dream of paying back money that shareholders 
 lose. He has no legal responsibility; he could 
 have gone away and left us in the lurch, or pro- 
 posed the reconstruction scheme and let us in for 
 more money. He has himself lost ten times as 
 much as we have, but it is only our comparatively 
 trivial losses that appear to trouble him. I fear 
 we have been unfortunate under his guidance, 
 but I feel, nay, more, would stake my life, that he 
 is an honourable man. Let us do as he says, 
 make the best of a bad business, as he is doing, 
 trust him and wait. " 
 
 Then Parker, whose excitement was carrying 
 him away, at last got his chance, "You needn't 
 wait," he turned to the men who had risen to 
 their feet, "you shan't wait, and you shan't 
 
 292
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 have any interest," he shouted to them, and then 
 he turned to Wendern. "George, you wouldn't let 
 me speak but you can pay every one of them 
 pay them this minute. Look here you're not 
 the only man who gets cables. I've been getting 
 them for weeks, and yesterday, and all day long, 
 two to-night and it's cost me a pretty bit an- 
 swering them, I can tell you." He pulled the 
 forms from his pocket and waved them in the air, 
 "Sandway Strip has done the business you'll 
 get your cheques to-night, and then you may go 
 home and sleep soundly in your beds and wish 
 you'd behaved better." 
 
 They yelled from sheer excitement, "Get it " 
 
 "Hurrah!" 
 
 "I say, give three cheers, " came a drunken voice. 
 
 "This is a rum turn," was heard above the din. 
 
 But Wendern was as cool as a cucumber, 
 "What do you mean, Joe," he asked. 
 
 Parker, standing at the corner by Mrs. Berwick, 
 looked at the shareholders with dry triumph. 
 "He owned a big property once in Australia, and 
 got rid of it, " he told them, "but he kept Sandway 
 Strip, the worst bit of all just out of sentiment 
 and it's my belief, gentlemen, that if you've 
 the luck to have it in you, nothing does finer 
 things than sentiment, things that nothing else 
 
 in the world would do 
 
 293
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Go on," they cried, "we are tired of talk." 
 
 "And on that bit of desert, thousands of miles 
 away, on which there's not a stick of wood to 
 light a fire, nor a blade of grass a sheep would look 
 at, a gold mine has been discovered, one of the 
 richest lodes that has been struck for years not a 
 pocket. " 
 
 The Jew's thick voice interrupted, "Gold mines 
 are not discovered in a minute " 
 
 And Digby, trying to maintain his bullying tone 
 added, "after eleven o'clock at night " 
 
 "I knew that a chap had been worrying round 
 trying to buy it, but I thought no more about 
 it " Wendern began. 
 
 "Well, I did," Parker interrupted triumphantly, 
 and his voice went down the table clear and strong, 
 "so I've been doing some prospecting on my own 
 account and saying nothing about it. I hope you'll 
 forgive the trespass, George, I told you I was up to 
 something. " 
 
 "If you're not dreaming " Wendern was keep- 
 ing a strong hold on himself. 
 
 "No, I'm not dreaming and I'm not drunk, 
 though I hope to be presently. The Melbourne 
 Bank only finished up the expert's report to-day 
 and sent their cable a few hours ago, the others 
 came sooner look at them, look at them for your- 
 selves," he held them high. "One's from the 
 
 294
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 bank saying that you can draw on their branch 
 here for pretty nearly anything you please 
 they've cabled it." 
 
 "Seems like business," said the Jew. 
 
 Parker left his place and went the length of the 
 room to his friend, "Get out your cheque-book, 
 George pay them, and get rid of them, and then 
 go back to your own property. I don't think much 
 of this part of the world, its ways are not good 
 enough, nor its men either. " He turned quickly 
 to Sir John Carneford, "I make an exception for 
 you, sir; I don't know who you are, but you strike 
 me as being a gentleman and used to honest men, 
 and I'd like to shake hands with you. " 
 
 "Delighted," they gripped hands. 
 
 A happy smile came over Wendern's face, a 
 little break was in his voice as he turned to the 
 table, "This is astounding," he said, "as much to 
 me as to you, my friends for I suppose I may call 
 you my friends now," he added cynically. Then, 
 as he opened the cheque-book he saw the note with 
 the little bunch of white flowers, "What's this?" 
 he asked. 
 
 The guests looked puzzled for a minute, while 
 he read the note, then crushed it in his hand, and, 
 bewildered, stood looking at the flowers. 
 
 But Parker was impatient, "Come, George," 
 he said, "you'd better hurry what's up with you, 
 
 295
 
 George Wendern 
 
 don't you understand, man, you're worth a 
 million. " 
 
 "You needn't go to Australia now," a voice 
 shouted. 
 
 But he answered, "Yes, I shall. Back to the 
 open, to begin all things; as they did when the 
 gold in the earth had not yet been turned into 
 money for the devil to play with as he will play 
 with it, till man has taken in a sense of its re- 
 sponsibility. That's what we all have to learn, 
 my friends, what I'm going to think out " 
 
 "Well, don't preach them a sermon, George, 
 but write your cheques," Parker cried. "I got 
 a list of the names and the sums from Dawson this 
 afternoon, though I daresay you've got one too 
 in your pocket?" 
 
 Wendern nodded. 
 
 "All the same, I'd rather you took mine; I 
 don't like doing things for nothing. Sit down 
 and write and get rid of them, " he insisted bluntly. 
 "I believe they've got their transfers and certi- 
 ficates ready." 
 
 "This is the hour of my life," Wendern said, and 
 did as he was told; a look of almost delirious hap- 
 piness was in his eyes. 
 
 "A wonderful hour indeed, " Sir John said. 
 
 "Drink to it," shouted Parker, going towards 
 the door, "drink to it, while I go and tell those 
 
 296
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 chaps to play something more lively than the noise 
 they are making up there." 
 
 Joe Parker had not learnt to appreciate Wagner. 
 They had struck up "The Steersman's Song" 
 again; it was changed for "The Merry Widow." 
 He looked at Mrs. Berwick and nodded. 
 
 When they had gone, Mrs. Berwick went up to 
 Wendern and took his hand; in the other he still 
 held the note and flowers. "I want you to come 
 with me," she said. They went through the 
 orange-trees and out by the door. "Go across the 
 lawn," she whispered; "you'll find her waiting for 
 you under the sycamore-tree by the little gate." 
 
 She went in with a lagging step. Buf she was 
 satisfied. 
 
 Katherine saw him coming through the dark- 
 ness; the dim twinkling lights of the house behind 
 him seemed to recede and the air to grow very still. 
 She quailed as he drew near; she was still 
 swathed in the black chiffon, as if she feared her 
 hopes would turn to ashes. 
 
 He stood silently in front of her. 
 
 "Is it too late?" her voice shook "too late 
 to be forgiven?" 
 
 "I didn't know that there was anything to for- 
 give," he said coldly, "and I don't understand 
 your change of front?" 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 297
 
 George Wendern 
 
 "Have you thrown Ken ton over too?" The 
 last word pulled her together. 
 
 "Yes, I've thrown him over too," she echoed. 
 "There was no reason to go on when he had the 
 new title and a great fortune." 
 
 "Didn't he love you?" 
 
 "I think he liked me," she said in a dull even 
 tone, as if she felt the interview was going to be 
 hopeless. "And he saw that it would be a good 
 thing to do. But he didn't love me as you do as 
 you did," she corrected herself. "I daresay he'll 
 marry the little actress. " 
 
 "Well, there'll be some adjustment in that. 
 And you mean that you never really cared about 
 him?" 
 
 She was stung by his tone, but still she fought 
 against it. She raised her head, and he saw her 
 face plainly, as he had seen it that night at 
 Brighton when the sea was whispering up to 
 them. 
 
 "I thought I had made it clear," she said. 
 "I was in love with what seemed to be a fine 
 thing to do the right thing in return for all I 
 had had given me. My head was in love with 
 the deed and my heart with you. I played my 
 head against my heart, and the head won. " 
 
 And again he stood looking at her without say- 
 ing a word. 
 
 298
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 She went on desperately, with her hands crossed 
 on her chest. "It was you I loved. I have loved 
 you from the first night we met. There has never 
 been any one else in the world for me. But I 
 wanted to be or to do something big. There 
 was no self-sacrifice women love self-sacrifice, 
 don't you know that? none in taking the man 
 I loved; but there was in what I was going to 
 do, and it couldn't be done unless I gave myself 
 with the money." 
 
 "You would have been a peeress," he said 
 bitterly; "and there is your duty to your father's 
 money, have you forgotten?" 
 
 "No, I have forgotten nothing and I tried 
 I have felt and dreamt fine things impossible 
 things just as you did." She stopped, and then 
 as if she could say no more she added with a little 
 sound that was like a sob, though there were no 
 tears in her eyes, "I did what I did but I kept 
 him off your kiss is still on my lips, George, and 
 no man's shall ever come on top of it. " 
 
 "And now?" 
 
 "I know the lawsuit has gone against you, that 
 everything has gone wrong with you," she had 
 evidently not heard of Sandway Strip; "but I 
 could make everything right." 
 
 "No," he said quickly, and drew back as if he 
 had been stung, "I don't want you to do the sort 
 
 299
 
 George Wendern 
 
 of thing for me that you wanted to do for Derby- 
 shire. " 
 
 "I only want you to be free," she pleaded hum- 
 bly, "free to take me away to the shanty you 
 talked of, I don't want either of us to have more 
 than will take us there? You said we might be 
 two happy beggars by the wayside, going on to 
 seek the magic way it's what I want to do?" 
 
 "God knows I have loved you," he said slowly, 
 as if it were all over. 
 
 "And I you," she answered. "I do now. I 
 will all my life. But you can't forgive me," she 
 stopped and turned to go. 
 
 Then he put his arms round her, " Beloved, " he 
 said, "so much has happened to-night too much 
 for any man to bear. But if you think I might 
 risk death from excess of happiness might pile 
 it up still higher " 
 
 She made a sound of joy, and he held her 
 closer. 
 
 "I must go in," she said at last, "it is time." 
 "Come across and look at the dining-room for 
 
 a moment." 
 The door was still open; the lights had been 
 
 extinguished all but a stray one here and there. 
 
 They stood outside, but they caught the breath 
 
 of the orange-trees, and through them they could 
 
 300
 
 Gave a Party 
 
 see in the dim room all the confusion and signs of 
 the feast that had been. 
 
 "George Wendern gave a party," she said. 
 They laughed and turned back towards the house. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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