"Perhaps," remarked Mr. Asherill dubiously, "he has had a good deal to do with you, Kleinwort?" "A little; yes, a little; not with me exact, but correspondents of mine." "And I expect he will have more to do with you before all transactions are finally closed," continued Mr. Asherill. "It may be; who can tell? business grows." "True," agreed Mr. Asherill, "and falls off, which brings us back to Mortomley. Why, as you two are so much interested in the affair, do you not act as friendly trustees and help to pull him through?" "Oh! it is deucedly unpleasant being mixed up in such affairs," said Mr. Werner hastily. "He means nothing by that," remarked Mr. Kleinwort, in reference to his companion's adverb, at which Mr. Asherill had shaken his head in grave remonstrance. "As to Mortomley, poor fellow, Forde asked me to see to the property, but I made answer-- "No, no; I have mine own business to attend to; anything in reason it is possible to do for the poor fellow and that mistaken little lady, yes; but I cannot neglect my own family and my own interests, even for the sake of that most beautiful child her mother refused to let kiss old, ugly Kleinwort." "Oh! Mrs. Mortomley would not then allow her child to kiss you?" commented Mr. Asherill. "Mein Gott, no!" exclaimed the German, warming with his subject; "ten million pardons, Asherill. Mein Gott in my affluent language means not the same, by hundreds of degrees, as the same phrase rendered into English. The small miss is a company child, wearing her hair soh;"--and Mr. Kleinwort made a feint of arranging a Gainsborough fringe over his ample forehead,--"who is neither shy nor forward, but has a knowledge of _les convenances_ customary with young ladies and gentlemen even of the smallest age, who have mixed in society since able to walk alone, and she, in answer to my petition, would have come to me. All who know Kleinwort know his weakness for children,--lovely innocents,--everything we men are not. But madam said, 'Lenore, I want you;' and, taking the tiny creature's hand, looked at me as a tigress with a cub might have regarded a hunter with a cocked gun. And Gott in Himmel knows," finished Mr. Kleinwort plaintively--, "I wanted to do no harm to child, mother, or father; only, as bad fortune would have it, poor dear Forde was rough. Like all timid, nervous people he always is rough with tender women and weak men, and so caused that mistaken little Mrs. Mortomley to put up her mane." "What sort of person is this Mrs. Mortomley, who seems to have disturbed your friend's equanimity?" inquired Mr. Asherill, turning to Mr. Werner. "Much like other women; there is not a great deal of difference among them," was the reply. "Ah! is not that Werner?" remarked Mr. Kleinwort; but Mr. Asherill silenced him with an impatient movement.