"Crestwick's as devoid of sense as he is of manners; he deserves to lose. What I can't get over is that fellow Batley's staying in what was once George Gladwyne's house, with Clarence standing sponsor for him." Lisle fancied he could understand. Nasmyth had his failings, but he had also his simple, drastic code, and it was repugnant to him that a man of his own caste, one of a family he had long known and respected, should countenance an outsider of Batley's kind and assist him in fleecing a silly vicious lad. "You have no reason to think well of Gladwyne," Lisle reminded him. "I haven't," Nasmyth owned. "Still, though the man has made one very bad break, I hardly expected him to exceed every limit. At present it looks as if he might do so; he'll probably be forced to." "I don't quite understand." "Then I'll have to explain. It's unpleasant, but here the thing is, as I see it--Batley's not the kind of man Clarence would willingly associate with, and to give Clarence his dues, all his instinct must make him recoil from the fellow's game with Crestwick. Considering that he's apparently making no protest against it, this is proof to me that Batley has some pretty firm hold on him." "What's Batley's profession?" "I suspect he's something in the smart money-lending line; one of the fellows who deal with minors and others on post-obits." "Post-obits?" "Promises to pay after somebody's dead. Suppose there should be only an invalid or an old man between you and a valuable property; you could borrow on the strength of your expectations. Now, what Crestwick told you shows that the person who left him his money very wisely handed it to trustees, with instructions to pay him only an allowance until he's twenty-four. It's a somewhat similar case to the one I've instanced--he's drawing on a capital he can't get possession of for two or three years, and no doubt paying an extortionate interest. So far as I know, no respectable bank or finance broker would handle that kind of business." "But if the boy died before he succeeded to the property?" "Batley could cover the risk by making Crestwick take out an insurance policy in his favor." Lisle's face grew stern, and Nasmyth lay smoking in silence for a while. Then he broke out again: "It's intolerable! George Gladwyne's successor abetting that fellow in robbing the lad, luring him into wagers and reckless play with the result that most of the borrowed money goes straight back into the hands of the man who lent it!" "Have you any suspicion that Gladwyne gets a share?" "No," replied Nasmyth, with signs of strong uneasiness; "I can't believe he benefits in that manner--if he did, I'd feel it my duty to denounce him. Still, I expect he wins a little now and then, incidentally." Again there was silence for a while, broken finally by Lisle.