He wrote to Mr. Hunter, quite agreeing with all that gentleman had said. It was unfortunately true that his financial condition was somewhat embarrassed at the moment, while his physical state did not encourage him to hope for any considerable increase of income likely to accrue from his professional duties of civil engineer. The position, as Mr. Hunter had admitted, was somewhat delicate, since Miss Yard would be living in his house, enjoying the use of his furniture; and would probably continue to do so until her death, by which time a great quantity of domestic utensils would have been destroyed, much valuable crockery broken, while the whole of the furniture would have suffered deterioration owing to wear and tear; furthermore he would have no control over the servants, who might conceivably indulge in a certain amount of pilfering--indeed a few articles had already unaccountably disappeared. He could not, of course, allow Miss Yard, whom he regarded with feelings of utmost affection, to be disturbed, or even to be troubled by any suggestion that her tenancy of Windward House should be brought to a close; but it was perhaps a pity Mr. Hunter had not suggested that Miss Yard should purchase the furniture--with the exception of a few articles he would wish to retain because of their sentimental value--for the sum which might be quoted by the professional valuer. George did not press the point in the least, but he would remind Mr. Hunter, under such an arrangement, Mr. Percy Taverner might very likely benefit. The appointment of Miss Nellie Blisland as custodian of Miss Yard's bank account met with his entire approval. He had watched this young lady carefully, and could assure Mr. Hunter that Miss Yard's interests would be perfectly safe in her hands. As Mr. Hunter prowled and sniffed through these elegant sentences, he discovered nothing of a suspicious nature. On the contrary, Mr. George Drake appeared to him a very obvious gentleman indeed. He wrote to Percy, requesting another interview, and when the tomato merchant arrived Mr. Hunter spread George's letter before him and asked him what he thought about it. "Nothing until I've heard your opinion," replied the cautious Percy. "You have the advantage of knowing Mr. Drake." "It's no advantage," declared Percy. "What sort of a man is he?" asked Mr. Hunter. "As this is a privileged communication, he's the most useless, good-for-nothing chap in the country," replied Percy; and he went on to narrate the tragical history of his cousin's deception and indolence. "Then he is, in your opinion, unscrupulous?" "That's right. If he wants Miss Yard to buy the furniture, it's because he hopes to benefit by it."