'Won't you sit down?'

'A--thanks--a--well I thought, on the whole, having received the letter
and the enclosure, which I must say very much surprises me--very much
_indeed_.' And Larkin looked reprovingly on an imaginary Mark Wylder, and
shook his head a good deal.

'He has not appointed another man of business?'

'Oh, dear, no,' said Larkin, quickly, with a faint, supercilious smile.
'No, nothing of that kind. The thing--in fact, there has been some
gossiping fellow. Do you happen to know a person at all versed in
Gylingden matters--or, perhaps, a member of your club--named Smith?'

'Smith? I don't, I think, recollect any particular Smith, just at this
moment. And what is Smith doing or saying?'

'Why, he has been talking over election matters. It seems Wylder--Mr.
Wylder--has met him in Geneva, from whence he dates; and he says--he
says--oh, here's the letter, and you'll see it all there.'

He handed it to Lake, and kept his eye on him while he read it. When he
saw that Lake, who bit his lip during the perusal, had come to the end,
by his glancing up again at the date, Larkin murmured--

'Something, you see, has gone wrong with him. I can't account for the
temper otherwise--so violent.'

'Quite so,' said Lake, quietly; 'and where is the notice he speaks of
here?'