"Oh, I was just calling on Tom," he replied rather haughtily.
Then Melville himself came in, brushing back his white tufted burnsides and
licking his lips and blinking his eyes--looking for all the world like a
cat at its toilet.
"Oh! ah! Blacklock!" he exclaimed, with purring cordiality--and I knew he
had heard of the big deposit I was making. "Come into my office on your way
out--nothing especial--only because it's always a pleasure to talk with
you."
I saw that his effusive friendliness confirmed Tom Langdon's fear that I
had escaped from his brother's toils. He stared sullenly at the carpet
until he caught me looking at him with twinkling eyes. He made a valiant
effort to return my smile and succeeded in twisting his face into a knot
that seemed to hurt him as much as it amused me.
"Well, good-by, Tom," said I. "Give my regards to your brother when he
lands, and tell him his going away was a mistake. A man can't afford to
trust his important business to understrappers." This with a face free from
any suggestion of intending a shot at him. Then to Sam: "See you to-night,
old man," and I went away, leaving Lewis looking from one to the other as
if he felt that there was dynamite about, but couldn't locate it.
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