"Well, it"s natural for the young to marry," said the other, gravely. "Murchison will be the next to go, I expect."
"Possibly," returned Hardy, with affected calmness.
"Blaikie was saying something about it this morning," resumed Swann, regarding him from half-closed lids, "but he was punching and tapping me all about the ribs while he was talking, and I didn"t catch all he said, but I think it"s all arranged. Murchison is there nearly every day, I understand; I suppose you meet him there?"
Mr. Hardy, whistling softly, rose and walked round the room, uncorking medicine bottles and sniffing at their contents. A smile of unaffected pleasure lit up his features as he removed the stopper from one particularly pungent mixture.
"Two tablespoonfuls three times a day," he read, slowly. "When did you have the last, Swann? Shall I ring for the nurse?"
The invalid shook his head impatiently. "You"re an ungrateful dog," he muttered, "or you would tell me how your affair is going. Have you got any chance?"
"You"re getting light-headed now," said Hardy, calmly. "I"d better go."
"All right, go then," responded the invalid; "but if you lose that girl just for the want of a little skilled advice from an expert, you"ll never forgive yourself--I"m serious."
"Well, you must be ill then," said the younger man, with anxiety.
"Twice," said Mr. Swann, lying on his back and apparently addressing the ceiling, "twice I have given this young man invaluable a.s.sistance, and each time he has bungled."
Hardy laughed and, the nurse returning to the room, bade him "good-bye" and departed. After the close atmosphere of the sick room the air was delicious, and he walked along slowly, deep in thought. From Nathan Smith his thoughts wandered to Jack Nugent and his unfortunate engagement, and from that to Kate Nugent. For months he had been revolving impossible schemes in his mind to earn her grat.i.tude, and possibly that of the captain, by extricating Jack. In the latter connection he was also reminded of that unhappy victim of unrequited affection, Edward Silk.
It was early to go indoors, and the house was dull. He turned and retraced his steps, and, his thoughts reverting to his sick partner, smiled as he remembered remarks which that irresponsible person had made at various times concerning the making of his last will and testament. Then he came to a sudden standstill as a wild, forlorn-hope kind of idea suddenly occurred to him. He stood for some time thinking, then walked a little way, and then stopped again as various difficulties presented themselves for solution. Finally, despite the lateness of the hour, he walked back in some excitement to the house he had quitted over half an hour before with the intention of speaking to the invalid concerning a duty peculiarly inc.u.mbent upon elderly men of means.
The nurse, who came out of the sick room, gently closing the door after her, demurred a little to this second visit, but, receiving a promise from the visitor not to excite the invalid, left them together. The odour of the abominable physic was upon the air.
"Well?" said the invalid.
"I have been thinking that I was rather uncivil a little while ago," said Hardy.
"Ah!" said the other. "What do you want?"
"A little of that skilled a.s.sistance you were speaking of."
Mr. Swann made an alarming noise in his throat. Hardy sprang forward in alarm, but he motioned him back.
"I was only laughing," he explained.
Hardy repressed his annoyance by an effort, and endeavoured, but with scant success, to return the other"s smile.
"Go on," said the shipbroker, presently.
"I have thought of a scheme for upsetting Nugent"s marriage," said Hardy, slowly.
"It is just a forlorn hope which depends for its success on you and Nathan Smith."
"He"s a friend of Kybird"s," said the other, drily.
"That is the most important thing of all," rejoined Hardy. "That is, next to your shrewdness and tact; everything depends upon you, really, and whether you can fool Smith. It is a great thing in our favour that you have been taking him up lately."
"Are you coming to the point or are you not?" demanded the shipbroker.
Hardy looked cautiously round the room, and then, drawing his chair close to the bed, leaned over the prostrate man and spoke rapidly into his ear.
"What?" cried the astounded Mr. Swann, suddenly sitting up in his bed. "You--you scoundrel!"
"It"s to be done," said Hardy.
"You ghoul!" said the invalid, glaring at him. "Is that the way to talk to a sick man? You unscrupulous rascal!"
"It"ll be amus.e.m.e.nt for you," pleaded the other, "and if we are successful it will be the best thing in the end for everybody. Think of the good you"ll do."
"Where you get such rascally ideas from, I can"t think," mused the invalid. "Your father is a straightforward, honest man, and your partner"s uprightness is the talk of Sunwich."
"It doesn"t take much to make Sunwich talk," retorted Hardy.
"A preposterous suggestion to make to a man of my standing," said the shipbroker, ignoring the remark. "If the affair ever leaked out I should never hear the end of it."
"It can"t leak out," said Hardy, "and if it does there is no direct evidence. They will never really know until you die; they can only suspect."
"Very well," said the shipbroker, with a half-indulgent, half-humorous glance. "Anything to get rid of you. It"s a crack-brained scheme, and could only originate with a young man whose affections have weakened his head--I consent."
"Bravo!" said Hardy and patted him on the back; Mr. Swann referred to the base of his left lung, and he apologized.
"I"ll have to fix it up with Blaikie," said the invalid, lying down again. "Murchison got two of his best patients last week, so that it ought to be easy. And besides, he is fond of innocent amus.e.m.e.nt."
"I"m awfully obliged to you," said Hardy.
"It might be as well if we pretended to quarrel," said the invalid, reflectively, "especially as you are known to be a friend of Nugent"s. We"ll have a few words--before my housekeeper if possible, to insure publicity--and then you had better not come again. Send Silk instead with messages."
Hardy thanked him and whispered a caution as a footstep was heard on the landing. The door opened and the nurse, followed by the housekeeper bearing a tray, entered the room.
"And I can"t be worried about these things," said Swann, in an acrimonious voice, as they entered. "If you are not capable of settling a simple question like that yourself, ask the office-boy to instruct you.
"It"s your work," retorted Hardy, "and a nice mess it"s in."
"H"sh!" said the nurse, coming forward hastily. "You must leave the room, sir. I can"t have you exciting my patient."
Hardy bestowed an indignant glance at the invalid.
"Get out!" said that gentleman, with extraordinary fierceness for one in his weak condition. "In future, nurse, I won"t have this person admitted to my room."
"Yes, yes; certainly," said the nurse. "You must go, sir; at once, please."
"I"m going," said Hardy, almost losing his gravity at the piteous spectacle afforded by the house-keeper as she stood, still holding the tray and staring open-mouthed at the combatants. "When you"re tired of skulking in bed, perhaps you"ll come and do your share of the work."
Mr. Swann rose to a sitting position, and his demeanour was so alarming that the nurse, hastening over to him, entreated him to lie down, and waved Hardy peremptorily from the room.
"Puppy!" said the invalid, with great relish. "Blockhead!"