"Now if there were any other way," Mr. Bundercombe concluded, "in which I
could still further show my gratitude to you personally for a certain
little matter, why I'm all for hearing about it. I consider the balance is
still on my side."
She laughed.
"You're really rather a dear!" she declared. "Do you know I am thinking of
starting in business for myself?"
"Where, and what as?" Mr. Bundercombe inquired.
I shook open an evening paper and heard no more. The girl's leavetaking,
however, a few minutes later, was both reluctant and impressive. I felt it
my duty to allude to the matter as soon as we were alone.
"You know, sir," I said, "this helping young women to set up in business
is a proceeding that's very likely to be misunderstood over here. I am not
in the least sure that even Eve would quite approve."
Mr. Bundercombe smiled the smile of a man of the world.
"One can't tell one's womenkind everything!" he declared grandiloquently.
I was a little puzzled. I felt convinced that Mr. Bundercombe was
concealing something from me.
"Furthermore," I continued, feeling it my duty to speak frankly to my
future father-in-law, "a man of your position needs to be very careful
when he has financial transactions with a good-looking young woman like
Miss Blanche.
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