Pine frowned and looked uneasy, remembering that Chaldea knew of his Gentile masquerading.  However, as he could see no reason to suspect that the girl had betrayed him, since she had nothing to gain by taking such a course, he passed the particular incident over.  “I must tell Chaldea not to go near The Manor,” he muttered.

“You will be wise; and tell the men also.  Garvington has threatened to shoot any one who tries to enter his house.”

“Garvington’s a little fool,” said Pine violently.  “There is no chance that the Romany will enter his house.  He can set his silly mind at rest.”

“Well, you’re warned,” said Silver with an elaborate pretence of indifference.

Pine looked up, growling.  “What the devil do you mean, Mark?  Do you think that I intend to break in.  Fool!  A Romany isn’t a thief of that sort.”

“I fancied from tradition that they were thieves of all sorts,” retorted the secretary coolly.  “And suppose you took a fancy to come quietly and see your wife?”

“I should never do that in this dress,” interrupted the millionaire in a sharp tone.  “My wife would then know my true name and birth.  I wish to keep that from her, although there is nothing disgraceful in the secret.  I wonder why you say that?” he said, looking searchingly at the little man.

“Only because Lambert is in the—­”

“Lambert!  Lambert!  You are always harping on Lambert.”

“I have your interest at heart.”

Pine laughed doubtfully.  “I am not so sure of that.  Self-interest rather.  I trust my wife—­”

“You do, since you make me spy on her,” said Silver caustically.

“I trust my wife so far,” pursued the other man, “if you will permit me to finish my sentence.  There is no need for her to see her cousin, and—­as they have kept apart for so long—­I don’t think there is any chance of their seeking one another’s company.”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” remarked the secretary sententiously.  “And you may be living in a fool’s paradise.  Lambert is within running-away distance of her, remember.”

Pine laughed in a raucous manner.  “An elopement would have taken place long ago had it been intended,” he snapped tartly.  “Don’t imagine impossibilities, Mark.  Agnes married me for my money, so that I might save the credit of the Lambert family.  But for me, Garvington would have passed through the Bankruptcy Court long ago.  I have paid off certain mortgages, but I hold them as security for my wife’s good behavior.  She knows that an elopement with her cousin would mean the ruin of her brother.”

“You do, indeed, trust her,” observed Silver sarcastically.

“I trust her so far and no further,” repeated Pine with an angry snarl.  “A Gentile she is, and Gentiles are tricky.”  He stretched out a slim, brown hand significantly and opened it.  “I hold her and Garvington there,” and he tapped the palm lightly.