ok out his jewelled fountain
pen again, spread the cheque on the seat of the bench beside him and
filled it in for the amount, including the halfpenny. He handed it to
her, holding it by the corner.

'It's wet,' he observed. 'It's drawn on the Bank of England. It will be
necessary for you to sign a statement to the effect that you withdraw
the suit and that Miss Donne's claim is fully satisfied. She will have
to sign that too. I'll send you the paper. If you have any doubts,' he
smiled, 'you need not return it until the cheque has been cashed.'

That was precisely what Mrs. Rushmore intended to do, but she protested
politely that she had no doubt whatever on the score of the cheque,
looking all the time at the big figures written out in Logotheti's
remarkably clear handwriting. Only the signature was perfectly
illegible. He noticed her curiosity about it.

'I always sign my cheques in Greek,' he observed 'It is not so easy to
imitate.'

He rose and held out his hand.

'I suppose I ought to thank you on Margaret's behalf,' said Mrs.
Rushmore, as she took it. 'She will be so sorry not to have seen you.'

'It was much easier to do business without her. And as for that, there
is no reason for telling her anything about the transaction. You need
only say that a syndicate has bought out Alvah Moon and has compromised
the old suit by a cash payment. I am not at all anxious to have her
know that I have had a hand in the matter--in fact, I had rather that
she shouldn't, if you don't object.'

Mrs. Rushmore looked hard at him. She had not even thought of refusing
his offer, which would save Margaret a considerable fortune by a stroke
of a pen; but she had taken it for granted that what might easily be
made to pass for an act of magnificent liberality was intended to
produce a profound impression on Margaret's feelings. The elder woman
was shrewd enough to guess that the Greek would not lose money in the
end, but she went much too far in suspecting him of anything so vulgar
as playing on the girl's gratitude. She looked at him keenly.

'Do you mean that?' she asked, almost incredulously.

His quiet almond eyes gazed into hers with the trustful simplicity of a
child's.

'Yes,' he answered. 'This is purely a matter of business, in which I am
consulting nothing but my own interests. I should have acted precisely
in the same way if I had never had the pleasure of knowing either of
you. If it chances that I have been of ser