“I’m beginning to understand.”

“Well,” said Bland, “shortly after Lansing’s accident, I wrote to the secretary, asking some questions, and he doesn’t seem to have been cautious enough in his answer—­I have it here.  There has been trouble about the company, and I attended a meeting of some disgusted people who had put their money into it.  They think they might get part of it back by attacking the promoters, and I’m told that my letter would help them materially.”

“Do you want to help them?”

“In a way, it’s natural,” said Bland with signs of warmth.  “I don’t see why those fellows should be allowed to get off after tricking people out of the money they’ve painfully earned.”

“How much money have you ever earned?”

Bland laughed.

“You have me there; I haven’t been able to buy shares out of my pay.  But I made a pot by taking long chances when I backed an outside horse.  It comes to much the same thing.”

“I don’t think it does,” said Sylvia, with a smile.  “But it strikes me that your explanation isn’t quite complete.”

“I went to West, instead of to another lawyer, because I thought he would be acquainted with Lansing’s present position; but, while he agreed that the letter might be valuable to the objectors, he couldn’t help me.  The end of it is that I don’t want to do anything that might hurt Lansing.”

Sylvia reflected.  She hardly thought his loss would seriously embarrass Bland; she owed Herbert something and might need his aid, and she did not wish any discredit to be cast upon a connection of hers.

“Well,” she said, “I believe Herbert is still to some extent connected with the company; he can hardly have withdrawn altogether.  Anyway, he had a large interest in it, and I think its management was in his hands.  He might suffer, so to speak, retrospectively.”

“Yes,” said Bland, “that didn’t strike me.  You’re right; there’s only one course open.”  He took a paper from his pocket and handed it to her.  “Give that to Lansing, and tell him he may do what he thinks fit with it.”

“You’re very generous,” said Sylvia, coloring as she took the letter.

“I’m afraid I’ve behaved badly in not keeping the thing from you; but you see how I was situated, and you’ll have to forgive me.”

“That isn’t difficult,” Sylvia told him.

They walked on in silence for a while; and then Bland looked around at her.

“There’s a thing I must mention.  I’ve had a hint to ask for a certain post abroad.  It is not a very desirable one in some respects, but the pay’s pretty good, and it would bring the man who took it under the notice of people who arrange the better Government appointments.  I should have to stay out at least two years.”

Sylvia was startled, and annoyed.  Now that the man owned her sway, she did not mean to accede to his wishes too readily.  Some obscure reason made her shrink from definitely binding herself to him, but his intimation had forced on something of the nature of a crisis.