Red Money by Fergus Hume (the little red hen ebook .txt) 📖

As Your Wife Refused To

Have Her Fortune Told."

 

Pine Frowned And Looked Uneasy,  Remembering That Chaldea Knew Of His

Gentile Masquerading. However,  As He Could See No Reason To Suspect That

The Girl Had Betrayed Him,  Since She Had Nothing To Gain By Taking Such

A Course,  He Passed The Particular Incident Over. "I Must Tell Chaldea

Not To Go Near The Manor," He Muttered.

 

"You Will Be Wise; And Tell The Men Also. Garvington Has Threatened To

Shoot Any One Who Tries To Enter His House."

 

"Garvington's A Little Fool," Said Pine Violently. "There Is No Chance

That The Romany Will Enter His House. He Can Set His Silly Mind At

Rest."

Chapter 7 (The Secretary) Pg 66

"Well,  You're Warned," Said Silver With An Elaborate Pretence Of

Indifference.

 

Pine Looked Up,  Growling. "What The Devil Do You Mean,  Mark? Do You

Think That I Intend To Break In. Fool! A Romany Isn't A Thief Of That

Sort."

 

"I Fancied From Tradition That They Were Thieves Of All Sorts," Retorted

The Secretary Coolly. "And Suppose You Took A Fancy To Come Quietly And

See Your Wife?"

 

"I Should Never Do That In This Dress," Interrupted The Millionaire In A

Sharp Tone. "My Wife Would Then Know My True Name And Birth. I Wish To

Keep That From Her,  Although There Is Nothing Disgraceful In The Secret.

I Wonder Why You Say That?" He Said,  Looking Searchingly At The Little

Man.

 

"Only Because Lambert Is In The--"

 

"Lambert! Lambert! You Are Always Harping On Lambert."

 

"I Have Your Interest At Heart."

 

Pine Laughed Doubtfully. "I Am Not So Sure Of That. Self-Interest

Rather. I Trust My Wife--"

 

"You Do,  Since You Make Me Spy On Her," Said Silver Caustically.

 

"I Trust My Wife So Far," Pursued The Other Man,  "If You Will Permit Me

To Finish My Sentence. There Is No Need For Her To See Her Cousin,

And--As They Have Kept Apart For So Long--I Don't Think There Is Any

Chance Of Their Seeking One Another's Company."

 

"Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder," Remarked The Secretary

Sententiously. "And You May Be Living In A Fool's Paradise. Lambert Is

Within Running-Away Distance Of Her,  Remember."

 

Pine Laughed In A Raucous Manner. "An Elopement Would Have Taken Place

Long Ago Had It Been Intended," He Snapped Tartly. "Don't Imagine

Impossibilities,  Mark. Agnes Married Me For My Money,  So That I Might

Save The Credit Of The Lambert Family. But For Me,  Garvington Would Have

Passed Through The Bankruptcy Court Long Ago. I Have Paid Off Certain

Mortgages,  But I Hold Them As Security For My Wife's Good Behavior. She

Knows That An Elopement With Her Cousin Would Mean The Ruin Of Her

Brother."

 

"You Do,  Indeed,  Trust Her," Observed Silver Sarcastically.

 

"I Trust Her So Far And No Further," Repeated Pine With An Angry Snarl.

"A Gentile She Is,  And Gentiles Are Tricky." He Stretched Out A Slim,

Brown Hand Significantly And Opened It. "I Hold Her And Garvington

There," And He Tapped The Palm Lightly.

 

Chapter 7 (The Secretary) Pg 67

"You Don't Hold Lambert,  And He Is The Dangerous One."

 

"Only Dangerous If Agnes Consents To Run Away With Him,  And She Won't Do

That," Replied Pine Coolly.

 

"Well,  She Certainly Doesn't Care For Money."

 

"She Cares For The Credit Of Her Family,  And Gave Herself To Me,  So That

The Same Might Be Saved."

 

Silver Shrugged His Narrow Shoulders. "What Fools These Aristocrats

Are," He Observed Pleasantly. "Even If Garvington Were Sold Up He Would

Still Have His Title And Enough To Live On In A Quiet Way."

 

"Probably. But It Was Not Entirely To Save His Estates That He Agreed To

My Marriage With His Sister," Said Pine Pointedly And Quietly.

 

"Eh! What?" The Little Man's Foxy Face Became Alive With Eager Inquiry.

 

"Nothing," Said Pine Roughly,  And Rose Heavily To His Feet. "Mind Your

Own Infernal Business,  And Mine Also. Go Back And Show That Letter To

Garvington. I Want My Tribe To Stay Here."

 

"_My_ Tribe," Laughed Silver,  Scrambling To His Feet; And When He Took

His Departure He Was Still Laughing. He Wondered What Garvington Would

Say Did He Know That His Sister Was Married To A Full-Blooded Romany.

 

Pine,  In The Character Of A Horse-Coper,  Saw Him Out Of The Camp,  And

Was Staring After Him When Chaldea,  On The Watch,  Touched His Shoulder.

 

"I Come To Your Tent,  Brother," She Said With Very Bright Eyes.

 

"Eh? Yes!" Pine Aroused Himself Out Of A Brown Study. "Avali,  Miri Pen.

You Have Things To Say To Me?"

 

"Golden Things,  Which Have To Do With Your Happiness And Mine,  Brother."

 

"Hai? A Wedding-Ring,  Sister."

 

"Truly,  Brother,  If You Be A True Romany And Not The Gentile You Call

Yourself."

Chapter 8 (At Midnight) Pg 68

Silver's Delivery Of His Employer's Orders To Lord Garvington Were

Apparently Carried Out,  For No Further Intimation Was Given To The

Gypsies That They Were To Vacate Abbot's Wood. The Master Of The Manor

Grumbled A Good Deal At The High Tone Taken By His Brother-In-Law,  As,

Having The Instincts Of A Landlord,  He Strongly Objected To The Presence

Of Such Riff-Raff On His Estates. However,  As Pine Had The Whip-Hand Of

Him,  He Was Obliged To Yield,  Although He Could Not Understand Why The

Man Should Favor The Romany In This Way.

 

"Some Of His Infernal Philanthropy,  I Suppose," Said Garvington,  In A

Tone Of Disgust,  To The Secretary. "Pine's Always Doing This Sort Of

Thing,  And People Ain't A Bit Grateful."

 

"Well," Said Silver Dryly,  "I Suppose That's His Look-Out."

 

"If It Is,  Let Him Keep To His Own Side Of The Road," Retorted The

Other. "Since I Don't Interfere With His Business,  Let Him Not Meddle

With Mine."

 

"As He Holds The Mortgage And Can Foreclose At Any Moment,  It _Is_ His

Business," Insisted Silver Tartly. "And,  After All,  The Gypsies Are

Doing No Very Great Harm."

 

"They Will If They Get The Chance. I'd String Up The Whole Lot If I Had

My Way,  Silver. Poachers And Blackguards Every One Of Them. I Know That

Pine Is Always Helping Rotters In London,  But I Didn't Know That He Had

Any Cause To Interfere With This Lot. How Did He Come To Know About

Them?"

 

"Well,  Mr. Lambert Might Have Told Him," Answered The Secretary,  Not

Unwilling To Draw That Young Man Into The Trouble. "He Is At Abbot's

Wood."

 

"Yes,  I Lent Him The Cottage,  And This Is My Reward. He Meddles With My

Business Along With Pine. Why Can't He Shut His Mouth?"

 

"I Don't Say That Mr. Lambert Did Tell Him,  But He Might Have Done So."

 

"I Am Quite Sure That He Did," Said Garvington Emphatically,  And Growing

Red All Over His Chubby Face. "Otherwise Pine Would Never Have Heard,

Since He Is In Paris. I Shall Speak To Lambert."

 

"You Won't Find Him At Home. I Looked In At His Cottage To Pass The

Time,  And His Housekeeper Said That He Had Gone To London All Of A

Sudden,  This Very Evening."

 

"Oh,  He'll Turn Up Again," Said Garvington Carelessly. "He's Sick Of

Town,  Silver,  Since--" The Little Man Hesitated.

 

"Since When?" Asked The Secretary Curiously.

 

"Never Mind," Retorted The Other Gruffly,  For He Did Not Wish To Mention

Chapter 8 (At Midnight) Pg 69

The Enforced Marriage Of His Sister,  To Silver. Of Course,  There Was No

Need To,  As Garvington,  Aware That The Neat,  Foxy-Faced Man Was His

Brother-In-Law's Confidential Adviser,  Felt Sure That Everything Was

Known To Him. "I'll Leave Those Blamed Gypsies Alone Meanwhile,"

Finished Garvington,  Changing And Finishing The Conversation. "But I'll

Speak To Pine When I See Him."

 

"He Returns From Paris In Three Weeks," Remarked Silver,  At Which

Information The Gross Little Lord Simply Hunched His Fat Shoulders. Much

As Pine Had Done For Him,  Garvington Hated The Man With All The Power Of

His Mean And Narrow Mind,  And As The Millionaire Returned This Dislike

With A Feeling Of Profound Contempt,  The Two Met As Seldom As Possible.

Only Lady Agnes Was The Link Between Them,  The Visible Object Of Sale

And Barter,  Which Had Been Sold By One To The Other.

 

It Was About This Time That The House-Party At The Manor Began To Break

Up; Since It Was Now The First Week In September,  And Many Of The

Shooters Wished To Go North For Better Sport. Many Of The Men Departed,

And Some Of The Women,  Who Were Due At Other Country Houses; But Mrs.

Belgrove And Miss Greeby Still Remained. The First Because She Found

Herself Extremely Comfortable,  And Appreciated Garvington's Cook; And

The Second On Account Of Lambert Being In The Vicinity. Miss Greeby Had

Been Very Disappointed To Learn That The Young Man Had Gone To London,

But Heard From Mrs. Tribb That He Was Expected Back In Three Days. She

Therefore Lingered So As To Have Another Conversation With Him,  And

Meanwhile Haunted The Gypsy Camp For The Purpose Of Keeping An Eye On

Chaldea,  Who Was Much Too Beautiful For Her Peace Of Mind. Sometimes

Silver Accompanied Her,  As The Lady Had Given Him To Understand That She

Knew Pine's Real Rank And Name,  So The Two Were Made Free Of The

Bohemians And Frequently Chatted With Ishmael Hearne. But They Kept His

Secret,  As Did Chaldea; And Garvington Had No Idea That The Man He

Dreaded And Hated--Who Flung Money To Him As If He Were Tossing A Bone

To A Dog--Was Within Speaking Distance. If He Had Known,  He Would

Assuredly Have Guessed The Reason Why Sir Hubert Pine Had Interested

Himself In The Doings Of A Wandering Tribe Of Undesirable Creatures.

 

A Week Passed Away And Still,  Although Miss Greeby Made Daily Inquiries,

Lambert Did Not Put In An Appearance At The Forest Cottage. Thinking

That He Had Departed To Escape Her,  She Made Up Her Impatient Mind To

Repair