June 9, 2025 • 15 mins
In The Just Men of Cordova (1917), a series of European financiers from London to Cordova are dying under mysterious circumstances, falling victim to an unidentified poison. Edgar Wallace, in his previous novel, introduced us to a group of vigilantes known as the Four Just Men, who are renowned for their ingenuity, persistence, lock breaking skills, and mastery of disguise. They operate in the shadowy realm beyond the law, their lethal justice instilling terror in their targets. But who are these men and who supports their cause? Edgar Wallace, a prolific author from the golden age of detective fiction, penned over 170 novels, including King Kong. With over 160 films based on his work, and a publishers claim that a quarter of all books read in England at the time were his, Wallaces influence is undeniable. - Summary by ASharma
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter nine of The Just Men of Cordoba by Edgar Wallace.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Atulsharma, Winnipeg, Canada.
Chapter nine, Lord Verlon gives a dinner. Lord Verlon was
an afternoon visitor at the Sandford Establishment. He had come
(00:20):
for many reasons, not the least of which nobody expected.
He was a large shareholder in the Sandford Foundries, and
with rumors of amalgamation in the air, there was excuse
enough for his visit. Doubly so, it seemed, when the
first person he met was a large, yellow faced man,
confoundedly genial in the worst sense of the word, and
(00:41):
too ready to fraternize for the old man's liking. I
have heard of you, my lord, said Colonel Black. For
the love of Heaven, don't call me my lord, snapped
the earl man alive. You are asking me to be
rude to you. But no man of Verlon's standing could
be rude to the colonel with his machanic smile and
his beaming eye. I know a friend of yours, I think,
(01:04):
he said, in that soothing tone which in a certain
type of mind passes for deference. You know ikey tramber,
which is not the same thing, said the Earl. Colonel
Black made a noise indicating his amusement. He always, he began,
he always speaks well of me, and says, what a
fine fellow I am, And how the earth loses its
(01:25):
savor if he passes a day without seeing me. Assisted
Lord Verland, his eyes alight with pleasant malice, and he
tells you what a good sportsman I am, and what
a true and kindly heart beats beneath my somewhat unprepossessing exterior,
And how if people only knew me, they would love me.
He says, all this, doesn't he Colonel Black bowed. I
(01:47):
don't think, said Lord Verlan vulgarly. He looked at the
other for a while. You shall come to dinner with
me tonight. You will meet a lot of people who
will dislike you intensely. I shall be delighted, murmured the colonel.
He was hoping that in the conference which he guessed
would be held between Sanford and his lordship, he would
be invited to participate in this. However, he was disappointed.
(02:11):
He might have taken his leave there and then, but
he chose to stay and discuss art, which he imperfectly understood,
with a young and distracted lady who was thinking about
something else all the time. She badly wanted to bring
the conversation round to the Metropolitan Police Force in the
hope that a rising unconstable might be mentioned. She would
(02:32):
have asked after him, but her pride prevented her. Colonel
Black himself did not broach the subject. He was still
discussing lost pictures when Lord Verland emerged from the study
with Sandford. Let your daughter come, Nero was saying. Sandford
was undecided. I am greatly obliged. I should not like
her to go alone. Something leapt inside Colonel Black's bosom.
(02:55):
A chance if you were talking of the dinner tonight,
he said, with an assumption of careless. I shall be
happy to call in my car for you. Still, Sandford
was not easy in his mind. It was May who
should make the decision. I think i'd like to daddy,
She said. She did not greatly enjoy the prospect of
going anywhere with the colonel. But it would only be
(03:17):
a short journey if I could stand in local parentis
to the young lady, said Black, nearly jocular, I should
esteem it in honor. He looked round and caught a
curious glint in Lord Verland's eyes. The Earl was watching
him closely, eagerly, almost, and a sudden and unaccountable fear
gripped the financier's heart. Excellent, excellent, murmured the old man,
(03:41):
still watching him through lowered lids. It isn't far to go,
and I think you'll stand the journey well. The girl smiled,
but the grim fixed look on the Earl's face did
not relax. As you are an invalid, young lady, he
went on, despite May's laughing protest. As you're an invalid
young lady. I will have Sir James Bower and Sir
(04:03):
Thomas Bigland to meet you. You know those eminent physicians. Colonel,
your doctor Aslee will at any rate experts both on
the action of vegetable alkaloids. Great beads of sweat stood
on Black's face, but his features were under perfect control.
Fear and rage glowed in his eyes, but he met
(04:23):
the others gaze defiantly. He smiled, even a slow, labored
smile that puts an end to any objection, he said,
almost gaily. The old man took his leave and was
grinning to himself all the way back to town. The
Earl of Verlande was a stickler for punctuality, a grim,
bent old man with a face that, so society said,
(04:47):
told eloquently the story of his life. His bitter tongue
was sufficient to maintain for him the respect or of
not the respect, the fear that so ably substitutes respect
of his friends. Friends is a word which would never
ordinarily apply to any of the Earl's acquaintances. He had
apparently no friend, save Sir Isaac Tramber. I have people
(05:10):
to dine with me, he said cynically, when this question
of friendship was once discussed by one who knew him
sufficiently well the deal with so intimate a subject. That
night he was waiting in the big library of Carnarvan Place.
The Earl was one of those men who observed a
rigid timetable every day of his life. He glanced at
(05:30):
his watch. In two minutes he would be on his
way to the drawing room to receive his guests. Horace
Gresham was coming a curious invitation. Sir Isaac Tramber had thought,
and had ventured to remark as much, presuming his friendship.
When I want your advice as to my invitationalist aikey,
said the Earl, I will send you a prepaid telegram.
(05:54):
I thought you hated him, grumbled Sir Isaac. Hate him.
Of course I hate him. I hate every I should
hate you, but you are such an insignificant devil, said
the Earl. Have you made your peace with Mary? I
don't know what you mean by making my peace, said
Sir Isaac, complainingly. I tried to be amiable to her,
(06:15):
and I only seemed to succeed in making a fool
of myself. Ah, said the nobleman, with a little chuckle.
She would like you best natural. Sir Isaac shot a
scowling glance at his patron. I suppose you know, he
said that I want to marry Mary. I know that
you want some money without working for it, said the Earl.
(06:35):
You have told me about it twice. I am not
likely to forget it. It is the sort of thing
I think about at nights. I wish you wouldn't pull
my leg, growled the baronet. Are you waiting for any
other guests? No, snarled the Earl. I am sitting on
the top of mont Blanc, eating rice pudding. There was
no retort to this. I've invited quite an old friend
(06:59):
of yours, said the Earl suddenly, But it doesn't look
as if he was turning up Ike frowned, old friend.
The other nodded. Military gent, he said laconically, a colonel
in the army, though nobody knows the army. Sir Isaac's jawdropped.
Not Black, Lord Verlon nodded. He nodded several times, like
(07:20):
a gleeful child, confessing a fault of which it was
inordinately proud. Black it is, he said, but made no
mention of the girl. He looked at his watch again
and pulled a little face. Stay here, he commanded, I'm
going to telephone. Can I You can't, snapped the earl.
He was gone some time, and when he returned to
(07:42):
the library there was a smile on his face. Your
pal's not coming, he said, and offered no explanation either
for the inexplicable behavior of the colonel or for his amusement.
At dinner, Horace Gresham found himself seated next to the
most lovely woman in the world world. She was also
the kindest and the easiest to amuse. He was content
(08:05):
to forget the world and such of the world who
were gathered about the earl. But Lord Verland had other views.
Met a friend of yours today, he said, abruptly, and
addressing Horace. Indeed, Sir, the young man was politely interested. Sandford,
that terribly prosperous gentleman from Newcastle. Horace nodded cautiously. Friend
(08:28):
of yours too, ain't he? The old man turned swiftly
to Sir Isaac. I asked his daughter to come to dinner.
Father couldn't come. She ain't here. He glared round the
table for the absent girl. In a sense, Sandford is
a friend of mine, said Sir Isaac, no less cautiously,
since he must make a statement in public without exactly
(08:50):
knowing how the elder man felt on the subject of
the absent guest. At least he's a friend of a friend,
Black snarled, Lord VERLANDE bucketshe swindler. Are you in it?
I have practically severed my connection with him, Sir Isaac
hastened to say. Verlon grinned. That means he's broke, he said,
(09:11):
and turned to Horace. Sandford's full of praise for a
policeman who's mad keen on his girl friend of yours?
Horace nodded. He's a great friend of mine, he said quietly.
Who is he? Oh, he's a policeman, said Horace. And
I suppose he's got two legs and a head and
a pair of arms, said the Earl. You're too full
of information. I know he's a policeman. Everybody seems to
(09:34):
be talking about him. Now what does he do, where
does he come from? What the devil does it all mean?
I'm afraid I can't give you any information, said Horace.
The only thing that I am absolutely certain about in
my own mind is that he is a gentleman, A gentleman,
and a policeman, asked the Earl, incredulously. Horace nodded. A
(09:55):
new profession for the younger son, eh, remarked Lord Verlon, Sir.
Don No more running away and joining the army. No
more serving before the mast, no more cow punching on
the Pampas a look of pain came into Lady Mary's eyes,
the old Lord swung round on her. Sorry, he growled,
(10:16):
I wasn't thinking of that, young fool. No more dashing
away to the ends of the earth for the younger son.
No dying picturesquely on the cape mounted rifles, or turning
up at an appropriate hour with a bag of bullion
under each arm to save the family from ruin. Join
the police force. That's the game. You ought to write
a novel about the man. A man who can write
(10:37):
letters to the sporting papers can write anything. By the way,
he added, I'm coming down to Lincoln on Tuesday to
see that horse of yours lose. You will make your
journey in vain, said Horace. I have arranged for him
to win. He waited later for an opportunity to say
a word in private to the old man. It did
not come till the end of the dinner, when he
(10:59):
found himself alone with the Earl by the way. He said,
with an assumption of carelessness, I want to see you
an urgent private business. Want money, asked the earl, looking
at him suspiciously from underneath his shaggy brows. Horace smiled, No,
I don't think I am likely to borrow money, he said.
(11:20):
Want to marry my niece, asked the old man, with
brutal directness. That's it, said Horace coolly. He could adapt
himself to the old man's mood. Well you can't, said
the earl. You have arranged for your horse to win.
I have arranged for her to marry Ike at least,
he corrected himself. Ike has arranged with me. Suppose she
(11:41):
doesn't care for this, plan, asked Horace. I don't suppose
she does, said the old man, with a grin. I
can't imagine anybody liking Ike, can you. I think he's
a hateful devil. He doesn't pay his debts, He has
no sense of honor, very little sense of decency. His associate,
including myself, are the worst men in London. He shook
(12:03):
his head suspiciously. He's being virtuous now, he growled, told
me so confidentially, informed me that he was turning over
a new leaf. What a rotten confession for a man
of his caliber to make I mistrust him. In his
penitent mood, he looked up. Suddenly, you go and cut
him out, he said, the tiny flame of malice which
(12:25):
gave his face such an extraordinary character shining in his eyes.
Good idea, that go and cut him out? It struck me.
Mary was a little keen on you. Damn Ikey, go along,
he pushed the astonished youth from him. Horace found the
girl in the conservatory. He was bubbling over with joy.
(12:45):
He never expected to make so easy a conquest of
the old man, so easy that he almost felt frightened.
It was as if the Earl of Verlonn, with that
sardonic humor of his, was devising some method of humiliating him. Impulsively,
he told her all that had happened. I can't believe it,
he cried. He was so ready, so willing. He was brutal,
(13:07):
of course, but that was natural. She looked at him
with a little glint of amusement in her eyes. I
don't think you know, uncle, she said quietly. But but
he stammered, yes, I know, She went on. Everybody thinks
they do. They think he's the most horrid old man
in the world. Sometimes, she confessed, I have shared their opinion.
(13:30):
I can never understand why he sent poor conaway. That
was your brother, he asked. She nodded. Her eyes grew moist.
Poor boy, she said softly. He didn't understand Uncle. I didn't. Then.
I sometimes think Uncle doesn't understand himself very well, she said,
with a sad little smile. Think of the horrid things
(13:51):
he says about people. Think of the way he makes enemies,
And yet I am ready to believe he is a
veritable Gabriel, said Horace fervently. He's a benefactor of the
human race, a king among men, the distributor of great gifts.
Don't be silly, she said, and laying her hand on
his arm, she led him to the further end of
(14:13):
the big palm court. Whatever pleasure the old lord brought
to Horace, it found no counterpart in his dealings with
Sir Isaac. He alternately patted and kicked him until the
baronet was writhing with rage. The old man seemed to
take a malicious pleasure in ruffling the other. That the
views he expressed at ten o'clock that night were in
(14:34):
absolute contradiction to those that he had put into words
at eight o'clock on the same night did not distress him.
He would have changed them a dozen times during the
course of twenty four hours if he could have derived
any pleasure from so doing. Sir Isaac was in an
evil frame of mind when a servant brought him a note.
He looked round for a quiet place in which to
(14:55):
read it. He half suspected its origin, But why had
black miss so splendid an opportunity of meeting Lord Verlande,
the note would explain. Perhaps he crossed the room and
strolled toward the conservatory, Reading the letter carefully. He read
it twice. Then he folded it up and put it
into his pocket. He had occasion to go to that
(15:17):
pocket again almost immediately, for he pulled out his watch
to see the time when he had left the little retreat.
On his way to the hall, he left behind him
a folded slip of paper on the floor. This, an
exalted horace, deliriously happy discovered on his way back to
the card room, he handed it to Lord Verlande, who,
(15:39):
having no scruples, read it, and, reading it in the
seclusion of his study, grinned. End of chapter nine
Chapter nine of The Just Men of Cordoba by Edgar Wallace.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Atulsharma, Winnipeg, Canada.
Chapter nine, Lord Verlon gives a dinner. Lord Verlon was
an afternoon visitor at the Sandford Establishment. He had come
(00:20):
for many reasons, not the least of which nobody expected.
He was a large shareholder in the Sandford Foundries, and
with rumors of amalgamation in the air, there was excuse
enough for his visit. Doubly so, it seemed, when the
first person he met was a large, yellow faced man,
confoundedly genial in the worst sense of the word, and
(00:41):
too ready to fraternize for the old man's liking. I
have heard of you, my lord, said Colonel Black. For
the love of Heaven, don't call me my lord, snapped
the earl man alive. You are asking me to be
rude to you. But no man of Verlon's standing could
be rude to the colonel with his machanic smile and
his beaming eye. I know a friend of yours, I think,
(01:04):
he said, in that soothing tone which in a certain
type of mind passes for deference. You know ikey tramber,
which is not the same thing, said the Earl. Colonel
Black made a noise indicating his amusement. He always, he began,
he always speaks well of me, and says, what a
fine fellow I am, And how the earth loses its
(01:25):
savor if he passes a day without seeing me. Assisted
Lord Verland, his eyes alight with pleasant malice, and he
tells you what a good sportsman I am, and what
a true and kindly heart beats beneath my somewhat unprepossessing exterior,
And how if people only knew me, they would love me.
He says, all this, doesn't he Colonel Black bowed. I
(01:47):
don't think, said Lord Verlan vulgarly. He looked at the
other for a while. You shall come to dinner with
me tonight. You will meet a lot of people who
will dislike you intensely. I shall be delighted, murmured the colonel.
He was hoping that in the conference which he guessed
would be held between Sanford and his lordship, he would
be invited to participate in this. However, he was disappointed.
(02:11):
He might have taken his leave there and then, but
he chose to stay and discuss art, which he imperfectly understood,
with a young and distracted lady who was thinking about
something else all the time. She badly wanted to bring
the conversation round to the Metropolitan Police Force in the
hope that a rising unconstable might be mentioned. She would
(02:32):
have asked after him, but her pride prevented her. Colonel
Black himself did not broach the subject. He was still
discussing lost pictures when Lord Verland emerged from the study
with Sandford. Let your daughter come, Nero was saying. Sandford
was undecided. I am greatly obliged. I should not like
her to go alone. Something leapt inside Colonel Black's bosom.
(02:55):
A chance if you were talking of the dinner tonight,
he said, with an assumption of careless. I shall be
happy to call in my car for you. Still, Sandford
was not easy in his mind. It was May who
should make the decision. I think i'd like to daddy,
She said. She did not greatly enjoy the prospect of
going anywhere with the colonel. But it would only be
(03:17):
a short journey if I could stand in local parentis
to the young lady, said Black, nearly jocular, I should
esteem it in honor. He looked round and caught a
curious glint in Lord Verland's eyes. The Earl was watching
him closely, eagerly, almost, and a sudden and unaccountable fear
gripped the financier's heart. Excellent, excellent, murmured the old man,
(03:41):
still watching him through lowered lids. It isn't far to go,
and I think you'll stand the journey well. The girl smiled,
but the grim fixed look on the Earl's face did
not relax. As you are an invalid, young lady, he
went on, despite May's laughing protest. As you're an invalid
young lady. I will have Sir James Bower and Sir
(04:03):
Thomas Bigland to meet you. You know those eminent physicians. Colonel,
your doctor Aslee will at any rate experts both on
the action of vegetable alkaloids. Great beads of sweat stood
on Black's face, but his features were under perfect control.
Fear and rage glowed in his eyes, but he met
(04:23):
the others gaze defiantly. He smiled, even a slow, labored
smile that puts an end to any objection, he said,
almost gaily. The old man took his leave and was
grinning to himself all the way back to town. The
Earl of Verlande was a stickler for punctuality, a grim,
bent old man with a face that, so society said,
(04:47):
told eloquently the story of his life. His bitter tongue
was sufficient to maintain for him the respect or of
not the respect, the fear that so ably substitutes respect
of his friends. Friends is a word which would never
ordinarily apply to any of the Earl's acquaintances. He had
apparently no friend, save Sir Isaac Tramber. I have people
(05:10):
to dine with me, he said cynically, when this question
of friendship was once discussed by one who knew him
sufficiently well the deal with so intimate a subject. That
night he was waiting in the big library of Carnarvan Place.
The Earl was one of those men who observed a
rigid timetable every day of his life. He glanced at
(05:30):
his watch. In two minutes he would be on his
way to the drawing room to receive his guests. Horace
Gresham was coming a curious invitation. Sir Isaac Tramber had thought,
and had ventured to remark as much, presuming his friendship.
When I want your advice as to my invitationalist aikey,
said the Earl, I will send you a prepaid telegram.
(05:54):
I thought you hated him, grumbled Sir Isaac. Hate him.
Of course I hate him. I hate every I should
hate you, but you are such an insignificant devil, said
the Earl. Have you made your peace with Mary? I
don't know what you mean by making my peace, said
Sir Isaac, complainingly. I tried to be amiable to her,
(06:15):
and I only seemed to succeed in making a fool
of myself. Ah, said the nobleman, with a little chuckle.
She would like you best natural. Sir Isaac shot a
scowling glance at his patron. I suppose you know, he
said that I want to marry Mary. I know that
you want some money without working for it, said the Earl.
(06:35):
You have told me about it twice. I am not
likely to forget it. It is the sort of thing
I think about at nights. I wish you wouldn't pull
my leg, growled the baronet. Are you waiting for any
other guests? No, snarled the Earl. I am sitting on
the top of mont Blanc, eating rice pudding. There was
no retort to this. I've invited quite an old friend
(06:59):
of yours, said the Earl suddenly, But it doesn't look
as if he was turning up Ike frowned, old friend.
The other nodded. Military gent, he said laconically, a colonel
in the army, though nobody knows the army. Sir Isaac's jawdropped.
Not Black, Lord Verlon nodded. He nodded several times, like
(07:20):
a gleeful child, confessing a fault of which it was
inordinately proud. Black it is, he said, but made no
mention of the girl. He looked at his watch again
and pulled a little face. Stay here, he commanded, I'm
going to telephone. Can I You can't, snapped the earl.
He was gone some time, and when he returned to
(07:42):
the library there was a smile on his face. Your
pal's not coming, he said, and offered no explanation either
for the inexplicable behavior of the colonel or for his amusement.
At dinner, Horace Gresham found himself seated next to the
most lovely woman in the world world. She was also
the kindest and the easiest to amuse. He was content
(08:05):
to forget the world and such of the world who
were gathered about the earl. But Lord Verland had other views.
Met a friend of yours today, he said, abruptly, and
addressing Horace. Indeed, Sir, the young man was politely interested. Sandford,
that terribly prosperous gentleman from Newcastle. Horace nodded cautiously. Friend
(08:28):
of yours too, ain't he? The old man turned swiftly
to Sir Isaac. I asked his daughter to come to dinner.
Father couldn't come. She ain't here. He glared round the
table for the absent girl. In a sense, Sandford is
a friend of mine, said Sir Isaac, no less cautiously,
since he must make a statement in public without exactly
(08:50):
knowing how the elder man felt on the subject of
the absent guest. At least he's a friend of a friend,
Black snarled, Lord VERLANDE bucketshe swindler. Are you in it?
I have practically severed my connection with him, Sir Isaac
hastened to say. Verlon grinned. That means he's broke, he said,
(09:11):
and turned to Horace. Sandford's full of praise for a
policeman who's mad keen on his girl friend of yours?
Horace nodded. He's a great friend of mine, he said quietly.
Who is he? Oh, he's a policeman, said Horace. And
I suppose he's got two legs and a head and
a pair of arms, said the Earl. You're too full
of information. I know he's a policeman. Everybody seems to
(09:34):
be talking about him. Now what does he do, where
does he come from? What the devil does it all mean?
I'm afraid I can't give you any information, said Horace.
The only thing that I am absolutely certain about in
my own mind is that he is a gentleman, A gentleman,
and a policeman, asked the Earl, incredulously. Horace nodded. A
(09:55):
new profession for the younger son, eh, remarked Lord Verlon, Sir.
Don No more running away and joining the army. No
more serving before the mast, no more cow punching on
the Pampas a look of pain came into Lady Mary's eyes,
the old Lord swung round on her. Sorry, he growled,
(10:16):
I wasn't thinking of that, young fool. No more dashing
away to the ends of the earth for the younger son.
No dying picturesquely on the cape mounted rifles, or turning
up at an appropriate hour with a bag of bullion
under each arm to save the family from ruin. Join
the police force. That's the game. You ought to write
a novel about the man. A man who can write
(10:37):
letters to the sporting papers can write anything. By the way,
he added, I'm coming down to Lincoln on Tuesday to
see that horse of yours lose. You will make your
journey in vain, said Horace. I have arranged for him
to win. He waited later for an opportunity to say
a word in private to the old man. It did
not come till the end of the dinner, when he
(10:59):
found himself alone with the Earl by the way. He said,
with an assumption of carelessness, I want to see you
an urgent private business. Want money, asked the earl, looking
at him suspiciously from underneath his shaggy brows. Horace smiled, No,
I don't think I am likely to borrow money, he said.
(11:20):
Want to marry my niece, asked the old man, with
brutal directness. That's it, said Horace coolly. He could adapt
himself to the old man's mood. Well you can't, said
the earl. You have arranged for your horse to win.
I have arranged for her to marry Ike at least,
he corrected himself. Ike has arranged with me. Suppose she
(11:41):
doesn't care for this, plan, asked Horace. I don't suppose
she does, said the old man, with a grin. I
can't imagine anybody liking Ike, can you. I think he's
a hateful devil. He doesn't pay his debts, He has
no sense of honor, very little sense of decency. His associate,
including myself, are the worst men in London. He shook
(12:03):
his head suspiciously. He's being virtuous now, he growled, told
me so confidentially, informed me that he was turning over
a new leaf. What a rotten confession for a man
of his caliber to make I mistrust him. In his
penitent mood, he looked up. Suddenly, you go and cut
him out, he said, the tiny flame of malice which
(12:25):
gave his face such an extraordinary character shining in his eyes.
Good idea, that go and cut him out? It struck me.
Mary was a little keen on you. Damn Ikey, go along,
he pushed the astonished youth from him. Horace found the
girl in the conservatory. He was bubbling over with joy.
(12:45):
He never expected to make so easy a conquest of
the old man, so easy that he almost felt frightened.
It was as if the Earl of Verlonn, with that
sardonic humor of his, was devising some method of humiliating him. Impulsively,
he told her all that had happened. I can't believe it,
he cried. He was so ready, so willing. He was brutal,
(13:07):
of course, but that was natural. She looked at him
with a little glint of amusement in her eyes. I
don't think you know, uncle, she said quietly. But but
he stammered, yes, I know, She went on. Everybody thinks
they do. They think he's the most horrid old man
in the world. Sometimes, she confessed, I have shared their opinion.
(13:30):
I can never understand why he sent poor conaway. That
was your brother, he asked. She nodded. Her eyes grew moist.
Poor boy, she said softly. He didn't understand Uncle. I didn't. Then.
I sometimes think Uncle doesn't understand himself very well, she said,
with a sad little smile. Think of the horrid things
(13:51):
he says about people. Think of the way he makes enemies,
And yet I am ready to believe he is a
veritable Gabriel, said Horace fervently. He's a benefactor of the
human race, a king among men, the distributor of great gifts.
Don't be silly, she said, and laying her hand on
his arm, she led him to the further end of
(14:13):
the big palm court. Whatever pleasure the old lord brought
to Horace, it found no counterpart in his dealings with
Sir Isaac. He alternately patted and kicked him until the
baronet was writhing with rage. The old man seemed to
take a malicious pleasure in ruffling the other. That the
views he expressed at ten o'clock that night were in
(14:34):
absolute contradiction to those that he had put into words
at eight o'clock on the same night did not distress him.
He would have changed them a dozen times during the
course of twenty four hours if he could have derived
any pleasure from so doing. Sir Isaac was in an
evil frame of mind when a servant brought him a note.
He looked round for a quiet place in which to
(14:55):
read it. He half suspected its origin, But why had
black miss so splendid an opportunity of meeting Lord Verlande,
the note would explain. Perhaps he crossed the room and
strolled toward the conservatory, Reading the letter carefully. He read
it twice. Then he folded it up and put it
into his pocket. He had occasion to go to that
(15:17):
pocket again almost immediately, for he pulled out his watch
to see the time when he had left the little retreat.
On his way to the hall, he left behind him
a folded slip of paper on the floor. This, an
exalted horace, deliriously happy discovered on his way back to
the card room, he handed it to Lord Verlande, who,
(15:39):
having no scruples, read it, and, reading it in the
seclusion of his study, grinned. End of chapter nine
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