“This thing touches us both, sir.  Lawrence is your son, but he’s my friend, and I’ve got to see him through, which warrants my giving you the best advice I can.  Very well, you must show a bold front to Daly; to begin with you can’t go to Hexham.”

Featherstone gave him a grateful glance.  He felt dejected and desperate, but Foster looked comfortingly resolute.  At first he had welcomed him for his son’s sake, but had come to like him for himself.

“No,” he agreed.  “I can’t go; but that doesn’t help us; because he’ll come here.”

“Yes; he must be met.  But do you know how he came to learn about the matter?”

“I don’t, but my relative, who was interested in politics and social schemes, had a secretary.  I can’t remember his name, but this might be the fellow.”

“Then it’s curious he didn’t get on Lawrence’s track before.  Anyway, he must be met with the bluff direct now.”

“How can he be bluffed?” Featherstone asked with a hopeless gesture.  “He can have my son arrested if I don’t agree to his demands.”

“He would first have to tell the police all he knew, and as soon as he did this his hold on you would be gone.  Then they’d ask why he’d kept the secret, which would be remarkably hard to answer, although he might perhaps take the risk out of malice if he saw you meant to be firm.  For all that, you must be firm; you can’t buy him off.  He’d come back later with a fresh demand.  Would your estate stand the strain?”

“My wife and daughter would make any sacrifice for Lawrence’s sake.”

“The sacrifice would benefit this bloodsucker, which is a different thing,” Foster rejoined.  “Then, even if you impoverished your family, you’d only put off the reckoning, which would come when the fellow had taken all you’d got.  In short, he must be bluffed off now.”

He sat down and pondered and there was silence for some minutes.  It had got dark and he heard the steady patter of the rain.  He knew he had undertaken a difficult task, and felt daunted because he could not see his way.  Still, it looked as if the happiness of these charming people, and perhaps his partner’s future, depended upon him.  If that were so, he must not fail them.

“Well,” he said by and by, “my opinion is that Daly thinks Lawrence is here, so to speak within his reach, which must be a strong encouragement.  If he learns the truth, he’ll, no doubt, go back to Canada and get on his track.  I’d like to set him searching up and down Great Britain.  There would be something amusing in his wasting his time and money, but at present I don’t see how it could be done.  However, we have until to-morrow to think of a plan.”

Featherstone left him soon afterwards and he stayed in the library until dinner, which was a melancholy function.  It was necessary to appear undisturbed while the servants were about, and he envied his friends’ fine self-control.  These people had courage and when they talked carelessly about things of no importance he did his best to play up.  Still, although they sometimes laughed, their amusement sounded forced, there was a curious feeling of tension, and he thought Mrs. Featherstone once or twice showed signs of strain.