Just as I was leaving, in came
Tom Langdon with Sam Ellersly.
Tom's face was a laughable exhibit of embarrassment. Sam--really, I felt
sorry for him. There was no reason on earth why he shouldn't be with Tom
Langdon; yet he acted as if I had caught him "with the goods on him." He
stammered and stuttered, clasped my hand eagerly, dropped it as if it had
stung him; he jerked out a string of hysterical nonsense, ending with
a laugh so crazy that the sound of it disconcerted him. Drink was the
explanation that drifted through my mind; but in fact I thought little
about it, so full was I of other matters.
"When is your brother returning?" said I to Tom.
"On the next steamer, I believe," he replied. "He went only for the rest
and the bath of sea air." With an effort he collected himself, drew me
aside and said: "I owe you an apology, Mr. Blacklock. I went to the steamer
with Mowbray to see him off, and he asked me to tell you about our new
dividend rate--though it was not to be made public for some time. Anyhow,
he told me to go straight to you--and I--frankly, I forgot it." Then, with
the winning, candid Langdon smile, he added, ingenuously: "The best excuse
in the world--yet the one nobody ever accepts.
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