“Who’s the woman, I wonder!” Algernon thought, and forgot her.

He obtained some particular information, and returning to the Bank, was called before his uncle, who curtly reckoned up his merits in a contemptuous rebuke, and confirmed him in his resolution to incur this sort of thing no longer.  In consequence, he promised Sir William that he would amend his ways, and these were the first hopeful words that Sir William had ever heard from him.

Algernon’s design was to dress, that evening, in the uniform of society, so that, in the event of his meeting Harry Latters, he might assure him he was coming to his Club, and had been compelled to dine elsewhere with his uncle, or anybody.  When he reached the door of his chambers, a man was standing there, who said,—­

“Mr. Algernon Blancove?”

“Yes,” Algernon prolonged an affirmative, to diminish the confidence it might inspire, if possible.

“May I speak with you, sir?”

Algernon told him to follow in.  The man was tall and large-featured, with an immense blank expression of face.

“I’ve come from Mr. Samuels, sir,” he said, deferentially.

Mr. Samuels was Algernon’s chief jeweller.

“Oh,” Algernon remarked.  “Well, I don’t want anything; and let me say, I don’t approve of this touting for custom.  I thought Mr. Samuels was above it.”

The man bowed.  “My business is not that, sir.  Ahem!  I dare say you remember an opal you had from our house.  It was set in a necklace.”

“All right; I remember it, perfectly,” said Algernon; cool, but not of the collected colour.

“The cost of it was fifty-five pounds, sir.”

“Was it?  Well, I’ve forgotten.”

“We find that it has been pawned for five-and-twenty.”

“A little less than half,” said Algernon.  “Pawnbrokers are simply cheats.”

“They mayn’t be worse than others,” the man observed.

Algernon was exactly in the position where righteous anger is the proper weapon, if not the sole resource.  He flushed, but was not sure of his opportunity for the explosion.  The man read the flush.

“May I ask you, did you pawn it, sir?  I’m obliged to ask the question.”

“I?—­I really don’t—­I don’t choose to answer impudent questions.  What do you mean by coming here?”

“I may as well be open with you, sir, to prevent misunderstandings.  One of the young men was present when you pawned it.  He saw the thing done.”

“Suppose he did?”

“He would be a witness.”

“Against me?  I’ve dealt with Samuels for three-four years.”

“Yes, sir; but you have never yet paid any account; and I believe I am right in saying that this opal is not the first thing coming from our house that has been pledged—­I can’t say you did it on the other occasions.”

“You had better not,” rejoined Algernon.

He broke an unpleasant silence by asking, “What further?”