“I’ll just disturb him for a moment, Mr. Jones.  I want him to tear himself from work for a day, and come for a ride.”

She opened my door, and came swiftly in.  On seeing the colonel she took in the position, and said to that gentleman: 

“Have you told him?”

“I have just done so, signorina,” he replied.

I had not energy enough to greet her; so she also sat down uninvited, and took off her gloves—­not lazily, like the colonel, but with an air as though she would, if a man, take off her coat, to meet the crisis more energetically.

At last I said, with conviction: 

“He’s a wonderful man!  How did you find it out, colonel?”

“Had Johnny Carr to dine and made him drunk,” said that worthy.

“You don’t mean he trusted Johnny?”

“Odd, isn’t it?” said the colonel.  “With his experience, too.  He might have known Johnny was an ass.  I suppose there was no one else.”

“He knew,” said the signorina, “anyone else in the place would betray him; he knew Johnny wouldn’t if he could help it.  He underrated your powers, colonel.”

“Well,” said I, “I can’t help it, can I?  My directors will lose.  The bondholders will lose.  But how does it hurt me?”

The colonel and the signorina both smiled gently.

“You do it very well, Martin,” said the former, “but it will save time if I state that both Signorina Nugent and myself are possessed of the details regarding the—­” (The colonel paused, and stroked his mustache.)

“The second loan,” said the signorina.

I was less surprised at this, recollecting certain conversations.

“Ah! and how did you find that out?” I asked.

“She told me,” said the colonel, indicating his fair neighbor.

“And may I ask how you found it out, signorina?”

“The President told me,” said that lady.

“Did you make him drunk?”

“No, not drunk,” was her reply, in a very demure voice, and with downcast eyes.

We could guess how it had been done, but neither of us cared to pursue the subject.  After a pause, I said: 

“Well, as you both know all about it, it’s no good keeping up pretenses.  It’s very kind of you to come and warn me.”

“You dear, good Mr. Martin,” said the signorina, “our motives are not purely those of friendship.”

“Why, how does it matter to you?”

“Simply this,” said she:  “the bank and its excellent manager own most of the debt.  The colonel and I own the rest.  If it is repudiated, the bank loses; yes, but the manager, and the colonel, and the Signorina Nugent are lost!”

“I didn’t know this,” I said, rather bewildered.

“Yes,” said the colonel, “when the first loan was raised I lent him one hundred thousand dollars.  We were thick then, and I did it in return for my rank and my seat in the Chamber.  Since then I’ve bought up some more shares.”