"Of course, that"s always the moneylender"s excuse. I"m afraid he will sell you up, Beau."
Captain Beaumont whistled.
"My dear Vermont, it will be an awful shock for the guv"nor. He can only give us younger sons a small allowance, and he certainly won"t be able to settle this matter; it would be altogether beyond him."
"What is the amount?" inquired Jasper. He was as well aware as was the young captain himself, of Lord Dunford"s financial difficulties.
"Well, not much," replied Captain Beaumont. "Only seven thousand; but it"s no good my going to the guv"nor for a penny piece, and how to clear it up is more than I can tell. But why do you ask?" he added, though with but faint eagerness. "Do you think you could find any one able to help me out of this beastly hole?"
"Well, I might," said Jasper, eyeing his cigar meditatively, as if seeking from its fumes some inspiration as to a method of aiding his friend.
"I only know one way to prevent Harker taking extreme measures," went on the troubled debtor; "that is, if I could get some one to back new bills. Now if, say, Adrien Leroy were to back some bills for me, Harker certainly would not refuse; but I am hardly in a position to ask Leroy."
"But I am," said Vermont, smiling with the consciousness of power; "and I will do it for you, for old friendship"s sake."
"You will!" exclaimed the captain gratefully. "Jasper, you"re a brick! I feel sure, somehow, he will do it for you. _I_ should stand no chance.
You are a good fellow to come to my rescue in this fashion."
"Ah," said Mr. Vermont, with a smile; "but can we be sure that Harker will accept Leroy"s name of the bills?"
"Why, of course, Harker or anybody--who wouldn"t?" asked the Guardsman, as the cloud dispelled from his face at hope coming so quickly from this unexpected quarter. "Why, it"s as good as the Bank of England. Harker take it?---he"ll snap at it. Only try him and see his greedy eyes glisten. What could Harker get by selling me up?--absolutely nothing.
Besides, it would do him harm by letting others know how harshly he served me. Oh, no, Harker will not sell me up if he can find such an easy, safe way out of the difficulty."
"True," said Jasper pleasantly. "Well, I"ll interview Leroy and see if I can persuade him to a.s.sist you, as a friend of mine; I believe I can do it for you. Going to Lady Merivale"s to-night? Yes? Then we shall meet again; till then, au revoir."
So, with a shake of his fat, smooth hand, the benevolent, unselfish Mr.
Vermont took his departure, still smiling serenely, on the business which had brought him that day to London.
n.o.body knew Jasper"s private address. He was always to be found with Adrien Leroy, and all letters were addressed to his club; or to Jermyn Court; but of the locality of that place which Mr. Vermont would sanctify by the name of "home," every one was ignorant. Whenever questioned on this subject--he never obtruded the matter on anybody--it was his custom to answer lightly:
"Home! what does such a waif, such a jetsam and flotsam of the world"s flowing tide, want with a home? Really, my dear boy"--or madam, if the speaker happened to be of the gentler s.e.x--"if ever you have occasion to see me, I am sure to be at one of these three places: Leroy"s chambers, my club--the Pallodeon, or Barminster Castle."
And accordingly, to one of these places his fashionable acquaintances directed their inquiries for him. Mr. Vermont, however, really possessed a home, small, it is true, but one quite suitable to his needs, and absolutely secluded from the possible knowledge of his friends in the gay world.
After leaving Captain Beaumont, he had himself driven to the City.
Alighting in front of a large jeweller"s shop, apparently with the intention of purchasing something, he dismissed his car; then when it had disappeared, walked quickly along the crowded thoroughfare for some distance. At last, looking round furtively--for he was ever cautious--he dived into one of the small entrances in Lawrence Lane, and mounting two flights of stairs, entered the front room. This was the home, or rather, perhaps, refuge from the conventions of society, that Mr. Vermont possessed. Here he could find shelter at any time of the night, for he possessed a private key; and by his orders the bed was kept constantly aired and ready by the housekeeper; who had her own rooms on the floor above. It was no unusual thing for her to leave the rooms tenantless late in the evening, and find them occupied when she rose in the morning, Jasper having arrived during the dead of night, silently as was his invariable custom.
The second morning after his sudden return to town, Mr. Vermont was in his sitting-room, which was very plainly furnished indeed, partaking of a breakfast so simple that his fashionable friends would scarcely have believed the evidence of their own eyes. When he had finished, and the table had been cleared, he went over to the roll-top desk which stood in an angle by the window, and opened it, disclosing piles of letters, sheets, of closely written foolscap and slips of memorandum forms. On the corner of the desk stood a telephone, which communicated with Harker"s private room, downstairs in the offices; they were dignified by the name of Harker"s "Bank," and were, of course, those of the moneylending business which was carried on by Vermont in that name.
Taking up the receiver now, he asked Harker to come up to him as soon as possible.
Within the next few minutes, George Harker was standing before the master he both hated and feared. He was very tall, with a thin, lined face, from which all light and hope seemed to have fled. His whole being appeared wrapped up in attendance on Jasper Vermont. He watched him eagerly now, not speaking until he was spoken to, but simply waiting patiently, doggedly, till his master was ready to attend to him.
Vermont drew the heap of various papers towards him--with keen eyes and quick brain grasped the mult.i.tude of facts they set forth, checked the long column of figures, struck the balances; and, with a nod of satisfaction, looked up at the man before him.
"All right, Harker, as far as I can see--and, as you know, that"s all the way and a little beyond. But we must do better than that. Where"s the private account?"
"Here, sir," said Harker, in a dry, rasping voice, somewhat like the creaking of an old, rusty-hinged door.
"Where?--oh, yes, I see. Oh, Paxhorn has come to us, has he? Writing poetry is not a paying game, eh? Or is it the fine, grand company that runs away with the golden counters? Well, all fish--or idiots--that come to our net are welcomed, no matter what wind drives them. Thirty per cent. from Paxhorn. No more?"
"I could not get any more, sir," said Harker earnestly; "I tried--tried hard--indeed I did, I a.s.sure you. I would not give in until he threatened to go to another office."
"Hem! well, I suppose it"s the truth; though, of course, all moneylenders are rogues--and you"re only a moneylender, you know." He looked up for a moment to laugh at the logical joke. "Who backs his paper? Lord Standon. Oh, my lord is pretty deep in our books already, isn"t he? Where are his statistics?"
"Here, sir," said Harker, taking one of the papers from the heap.
Jasper Vermont glanced at it, and laid it down again with an evil smile on his face.
"Oh, he"s good for more than that, Harker; but be cautious. We"ll lend him another ten thousand; but put on five per cent. Lords must pay, to set the fashion to commoner folk. By the way, Captain Beaumont----"
"Whose bills you instructed me to call in, sir."
"Yes; well, I met him yesterday and promised to intercede for him you."
He laughed harshly. "What fun it is, poor idiot! He shook my hand with profuse expressions of grat.i.tude. Mr. Leroy will back the renewal and you can let it run. Beaumont"s the second son, Lord Dunford is on his last legs, and the heir won"t live another year, we can come down like kites when the gallant captain has the t.i.tle and estates. Till then we"ll wait; but stick out for another two-and-a-half per cent. Make the calves bleed, Harker; it will do them and me good."
About that small matter of the young artist, Wilson, sir?"
"Eh! Wilson? Oh, yes. You got instructions to proceed in the usual way to sell him up."
"Yes, sir, that was your order. He called yesterday, and pleaded for another week. His wife is dying, and they are starving. He begs hard for another week----"
Stuff, another week! the dog means another year. He should have thought of the time for repaying when he was borrowing. Another week--not another day. Start proceedings at once. Mind, I say it. Didn"t I hear him call me a "parasite from the pavement" one night at a ball? Screens have ears, Mr. Wilson, and parasites have memories. Sell him up--do you hear, Harker?"
"I do sir; it shall be done," replied his servant meekly.
"And now for Leroy"s account." With a gleam of fiendish delight in his eyes, he scrutinized the figures and statements. "Ah! you are getting them in fast."
"All Mr. Leroy"s bills we are getting in--buying up wherever they are met with, sir, according to your instructions."
"Right, get him into your hands--you know how. Be prepared for--you know!"
Mr. Harker inclined his head.
"Now for the women. Ah, those dear b.u.t.terfly creatures will come to the nasty sticky papers that were meant to catch bluebottles only; well, then, they must take the consequences. What! Lady Merivale--the fair Eveline. Does she want to borrow money?"
"She dabbles in the Stock Exchange. I know her business man; he owes us money, sir, and we know some of his secrets. She has been losing lately, and has deposited her diamonds, sir--"
"Her diamonds? The famous Merivale diamonds? Where are they?"
"Here, sir." Mr. Harker produced from his long pocket a shallow morocco case which he tendered mechanically to his employer.
Jasper Vermont opened the case, and gazed on its contents with twinkling eyes; then, shutting it with a laugh, he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his smooth fat hands over his chin.
"What will her ladyship do for them, and when were those left? I saw her last night and--by Heaven! she wore--"
"Paste imitations, sir. I had them made up for her. Did you think the counterfeit good?"
"Capital. Oh, isn"t it rich! that old idiot must have eyed her proudly, gloating over his famous diamonds on his wife"s fair bosom, little guessing they were Mr. Harker"s tawdry gla.s.s mockeries. Capital, Harker, but take care, take care. Remember the d.u.c.h.ess who brought her jewels to pledge, and discovered that they were paste already, and that the duke had done the trans.m.u.tation before her. Beware!"