then sat till bed-time doing
nothing whatever, a habit to which he was not generally addicted.

He was seated in his office next morning and was in fact on the point of
leaving for his bathe, for this hot genial June was marching on its sunny
way uninterrupted by winds or rain, when Mr. Timmins, after discreetly
tapping, entered, and closed the door behind him.

"Mr. Morris Assheton, sir, to see you," he said. "I said I would find
out if you were disengaged, and could hardly restrain him from coming in
with me. The young gentleman seems very excited and agitated. Hardly
himself, sir."

"Indeed, show him in," said Mr. Taynton.

A moment afterward the door burst open and banged to again behind Morris.
High colour flamed in his face, his black eyes sparkled with vivid
dangerous light, and he had no salutation for his old friend.

"I've come on a very unpleasant business," he said, his voice not
in control.

Mr. Taynton got up. He had only had one moment of preparation and he
thought, at any rate, that he knew for certain what this unpleasant
business must be. Evidently Mills had given him away. For what reason he
had done so he could not guess; after his experience of yesterday it
might have been from pure devilry, or again he might have feared that in
desperation, Taynton would take that extreme step of prosecuting him for
blackmail. But, for that moment Taynton believed that Morris's agitation
must be caused by this, and it says much for the iron of his nerve that
he did not betray himself by a tremor.

"My dear Morris," he said, "I must ask you to pull yourself together. You
are out of your own control. Sit down, please, and be silent for a
minute. Then tell me calmly what is the matter."

Morris sat down as he was told, but the calmness was not conspicuous.

"Calm?" he said. "Would you be calm in my circumstances, do you think?"

"You have not yet told me what they are," said Mr. Taynton.

"I've just seen Madge Templeton," he said. "I met her privately by
appointment. And she told me--she told me--"

Master of himself though he was, Mr. Taynton had one moment of
physical giddiness, so complete and sudden was the revulsion and
reaction that took place in his brain. A moment before he had known,
he thought, for certain that his own utter ruin was imminent. Now he
knew that it was not that, and though he had made one wrong conjecture
as to what the unpleasant business was, he did not think that his
second g