H. de Vere Stacpoole and Margaret Stacpoole

“ What a delight even in a dream! To be young and absolutely free from all restrait, free from all ties, unconscious of relatives, unconscious of everything but immediate surroundings, with virginal appetites and desires and countless sovereigns to meet them with. Dangling his heels, and with his straw hat beside him, he gloated on his treasure; then, picking out three ten-pound notes and putting the remainder in the wallet, he locked the wallet away in his portmanteau and put the key under the wardrobe. ”

“ Simon seemed to find it all right. Puffing his cigar, he ordered a brandy cold—a brandy cold!—and sipping his brandy cold he took a stock of the men around. Even his innocence and newness, despite the crave for companionship now on him, recognized that these were undesirables, and as for the two girls, they were frozen images—for him. They were laughing and changing words with all sorts of young men, counter jumpers, and horsey men, but for him they had nothing but brandy cold and monsyllables. He was beginning to get irritated with women. ”

“ Oppenshaw had told him to leave the wallet where it was and not take the notes back to the bank, as that would be weakness. Sir Ralph Puttick was telling him now that Oppenshaw was a fool. The real weakness would be to follow the advice of Oppenshaw. To follow that advice would be to play with this business and confess that there was reality in it. Besides, with those notes in the safe behind him, he could never do his morning's work. No, back those notes should go to the bank. He opened the safe, and there was the wallet seated like an evil genius on the deed box. ”