'It's a shame,' said Micky.
Edward fumed in silence.
Micky fretted impatiently while the hansom crawled along the Strand. Tonio should be at the club by now. Edward was in just the right mood to quarrel. Everything was working out.
At last the cab pulled up outside the club. Micky waited while Edward paid the driver. They went inside. In the cloakroom, in a knot of people hanging up their hats, they met Tonio.
Micky tensed. He had put everything in place: now he could only cross his fingers and hope that the drama he had envisioned would play itself out as planned.
Tonio caught Edward's eye, looked awkward, and said: 'By Jove ... Good morning, you two.'
Micky looked at Edward. His face turned pink and his eyes bulged, and he said: 'See here, Silva.'
Tonio stared at him fearfully. 'What is it, Pilaster?'
Edward said loudly: 'About that hundred pounds.'
The room went suddenly quiet. Several people looked around and two men on their way out stopped in the doorway and turned to see. It was bad behavior to talk about money, and a gentleman would do so only in extreme circumstances. Everyone knew that Edward Pilaster had more money than he knew what to do with, so it was obvious he had some other motive for publicly mentioning Tonio's debt. Bystanders sensed a scandal.
Tonio went white. 'Yes?'
Edward said brutally: 'You can let me have it today, if it would suit your convenience.'
A challenge had been issued. Plenty of people knew the debt was real, so there was no point in arguing about it. As a gentleman, Tonio had only one option. He had to say By all means. If it's important, you shall have your money right away. Let's go upstairs, and I'll write you a cheque--or shall we step around the corner to my bank? If he did not do that, everyone would know he could not pay, and he would be ostracized.
Micky watched with horrid fascination. At first a look of panic came over Tonio's face, and for a moment Micky wondered whether he would do something crazy. Then fear gave way to anger, and he opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out. Instead he spread his hands in a pleading gesture; but he quickly abandoned that, too. Finally his face crumpled like the face of a child about to cry. At that point he turned and ran. The two men in the doorway dodged out of his way, and he dashed through the lobby and out into the street without his hat.
Micky was elated: it had all gone perfectly.
The men in the cloakroom all coughed and fidgeted to disguise their embarrassment. An older member muttered: 'That was a bit hard, Pilaster.'
Micky said quickly: 'He deserved it.'
'No doubt, no doubt,' said the older man.
Edward said: 'I need a drink.'
Micky said: 'Order a brandy for me, would you? I'd better go after Silva and make sure he doesn't throw himself under the wheels of a horse bus.' He dashed out.
This was the most subtle part of his plan: he now had to convince the man he had ruined that he was his best friend.
Tonio was hurrying along in the direction of St. James's, not looking where he was going, bumping into people. Micky ran and caught up with him. 'I say, Silva, I'm dreadfully sorry,' he said.
Tonio stopped. There were tears on his cheeks. 'I'm finished,' he said. 'It's all over.'
'Pilaster turned me down flat,' Micky said. 'I did my best....'
'I know. Thank you.'
'Don't thank me. I failed.'
'But you tried. I wish there was something I could do to show my appreciation.'
Micky hesitated, thinking: Do I dare to ask him for his job, right now? He decided to be bold. 'As a matter of fact there is--but we should talk about it another time.'
'No, tell me now.'
'I'd feel bad. Let's leave it until another day.'
'I don't know how many more days I'll be here. What is it?'
'Well ...' Micky feigned embarrassment. 'I suppose the Cordovan Minister will eventually be looking for someone to replace you.'
'He'll need someone right away.' Comprehension showed on Tonio's tear-stained face. 'Of course--you should have the job! You'd be perfect!'
'If you could put in a word....'
'I'll do more than that. I'll tell him what a help you've been, and how you tried to get me out of the mess I got myself into. I'm sure he'll want to appoint you.'
'I wish I weren't benefiting from your troubles,' Micky said. 'I feel I'm behaving like a rat.'
'Not at all.' Tonio took Micky's hand in both of his. 'You're a true friend.'
Chapter FIVE
SEPTEMBER
Section 1
HUGH'S SIX-YEAR-OLD SISTER Dorothy was folding his shirts and packing them into his trunk. He knew that as soon as she went to bed he would have to take them all out and do them again, because her folding was hopelessly untidy; but he pretended she was very good at it, and encouraged her.
'Tell me about America again,' she said.
'America is so far away that in the morning the sun takes four hours to get there.'
'Do they stay in bed all morning?'
'Yes--then they get up at lunchtime and have breakfast!'
She giggled. 'They're lazy.'
'Not really. You see, it doesn't get dark until midnight, so they have to work all evening.'
'And they go to bed late! I like going to bed late. I'd like America. Why can't we go with you?'
'I wish you could, Dotty.' Hugh felt rather wistful: he would not see his baby sister again for years. She would be changed when he returned. She would understand time zones.
September rain drummed on the windows, and down in the bay the wind lashed the waves, but here there was a coal fire and a soft hearth-rug. Hugh packed a handful of books: Modern Business Methods, The Successful Commercial Clerk, The Wealth of Nations, Robinson Crusoe. The older clerks at Pilasters Bank were contemptuous of what they called 'book-learning,' and were fond of saying that experience was the best teacher, but they were wrong: Hugh had been able to understand the workings of the different departments much
