Page:Mr. Wu (IA mrwumilnlouisejo00milniala).pdf/126

 *dispensable for my new line of ships to Australia. I wrote him about it, and reply seemed, I must admit—well, a trifle vindictive."

The girl sat down again quietly, but Tom Carruthers, who had risen when she had, stood still leaning a little on his chair and watching her closely.

"But you have not seen my honorable father for a long time," Nang told the financier.

"Oh!" he returned, "I, personally, have never seen your father, Miss Wu; but my manager, Holman, saw him a couple of hours ago."

Nang Ping's fingers tangled quickly in her girdle. Only Ah Wong saw it, but several of them noticed Low Soong's start—it was noticeable. "It cannot be so," Nang said.

"Eh? Of course it is so. Old Holman's got both his eyes; he sees all right."

"But"—and, in spite of her, a little of the concern she felt crept into her voice—"but he has been in Canton for twenty days."

"Oh! well," Mr. Gregory returned indifferently, "then he must have come back. It's scarcely two hours since Holman met him and told him we were visiting Kowloon. And your father particularly requested that we should visit his garden. He said any member of my family would be made very welcome. Holman said those were Wu's exact words—exact old josser, Holman, always. Any member of my family would be made very welcome. And, you know, that's all very well when you've just done a man down in business—any one can afford to be polite then." He got up and dragged his chair a few feet and reseated himself beside his wife.

"Robert," she greeted him, "you can scarcely expect