But not apparently in a very satisfied mood. After a few moments of
purely mechanical memoranda-making, he rose abruptly and opened a small
drawer in a cabinet, from which he took a letter still in its envelope.
It bore a foreign postmark. Glancing over it hastily, his eyes at
last became fixed on a concluding paragraph. "I hope," wrote his
correspondent, "that even in the rush of your big business you will
sometimes look after Barker. Not that I think the dear old chap will
ever go wrong--indeed, I often wish I was as certain of myself as of
him and his insight; but I am afraid we were more inclined to be merely
amused and tolerant of his wonderful trust and simplicity than to really
understand it for his own good and ours. I know you did not like his
marriage, and were inclined to believe he was the victim of a rather
unscrupulous father and a foolish, unequal girl; but are you satisfied
that he would have been the happier without it, or lived his perfect
life under other and what you may think wiser conditions? If he WROTE
the poetry that he LIVES everybody would think him wonderful; for being
what he is we never give him sufficient credit." Stacy smiled grimly,
and penciled on his memorandum, "He wants it to the amount of ten
thousand dollars." "Anyhow," continued the writer, "look after him, Jim,
for his sake, your sake, and the sake of--PHIL DEMOREST."
Stacy put the letter back in its envelope, and tossing it grimly aside
went on with his calculations. Presently he stopped, restored the letter
to his cabinet, and rang a bell on his table. "Send Mr. North here,"
he said to the negro messenger. In a few moments his chief book-keeper
appeared in the doorway.
"Turn to the Branch ledger and bring me a statement of Mr. George
Barker's account."
"He was here a moment ago," said North, essaying a confidential look
towards his chief.
"I know it," said Stacy coolly, without looking up.
"He's been running a good deal on wildcat lately," suggested North.
"I asked for his account, and not your opinion of it," said Stacy
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