That would be particularly like her. You would
be simply endowing some needy fellow, beside losing her
for yourself. D'ye follow me? If you'll leave it to me,
I can find a much better way than that--better for all
of us."
"Hm!" said Thorpe, and pondered the paternal statement.
"I see what you mean," he remarked at last. "Yes--I see."
The General preserved silence for what seemed a long time,
deferring to the reverie of his host. When finally he
offered a diversion, in the form of a remark about the hour,
Thorpe shook himself, and then ponderously rose to his feet.
He took his hat and coat from the waiter, and made his way
out without a word.
At the street door, confronting the waning foliage of the
Embankment garden, Kervick was emboldened to recall to him
the fact of his presence. "Which way are you going?"
he asked.
"I don't know," Thorpe answered absently. "I think--I
think I'll take a walk on the Embankment--by myself."
The General could not repress all symptoms of uneasiness.
"But when am I to see you again?" he enquired, with an
effect of solicitude that defied control.
"See me?" Thorpe spoke as if the suggestion took him
by surprise.
"There are things to be settled, are there not?"
the other faltered, in distressed doubt as to the judicious
tone to take.
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