She passed on, with the slow, gliding gait, which, together with her fragility, sometimes lent her an almost phantomesque appearance. This was comforting, in its degree; since it proved that the smiling Gianapolis had in no way misled him (Soames). But as a man of business, Mr. Soames was not fully satisfied. He selected an evening when Mrs. Leroux was absent--and indeed she was absent almost every evening, for Leroux entertained but little. The cook and the housemaid were absent, also; therefore, to all intents and purposes, Soames had the flat to himself; since Henry Leroux counted in that establishment, not as an entity, but rather as a necessary, if unornamental, portion of the fittings. Standing in the lobby, Soames raised the telephone receiver, and having paused with closed eyes preparing the exact form of words in which he should address his invisible employer, he gave the number: East 18642. Following a brief delay:-- “Yes,” came a nasal voice, “who is it?” “Soames! I want to speak to Mr. King!” The words apparently surprised the man at the other end of the wire, for he hesitated ere inquiring:-- “What did you say your name was?” “Soames--Luke Soames.” “Hold on!” Soames, with closed eyes, and holding the receiver to his ear, silently rehearsed again the exact wording of his speech. Then:-- “Hullo!” came another voice--“is that Mr. Soames?” “Yes! Is that Mr. Gianapolis speaking?” “It is, my dear Soames!” replied the sing-song voice; and Soames, closing his eyes again, had before him a mental picture of the radiantly smiling Greek. “Yes, my dear Soames,” continued Gianapolis; “here I am. I hope you are quite well--perfectly well?” “I am perfectly well, thank you; but as a man of business, it has occurred to me that failing a proper agreement--which in this case I know would be impossible--a trifling advance on the first quarter's”... “On your salary, my dear Soames! On your salary? Payment for the first quarter shall be made to you to-morrow, my dear Soames! Why ever did you not express the wish before? Certainly, certainly!”... “Will it be sent to me?” “My dear fellow! How absurd you are! Can you get out to-morrow evening about nine o'clock?” “Yes, easily.” “Then I will meet you at the corner of Victoria Street, by the hotel, and hand you your first quarter's salary. Will that be satisfactory?” “Perfectly,” said Soames, his small eyes sparkling with avarice. “Most decidedly, Mr. Gianapolis. Many thanks.”... “And by the way,” continued the other, “it is rather fortunate that you rang me up this evening, because it has saved me the trouble of ringing you up.” “What?”--Soames' eyes half closed, from the bottom lids upwards:--“there is something”... “There is a trifling service which I require of you--yes, my dear Soames.” “Is it?”... “We will discuss the matter to-morrow evening. Oh! it is a mere trifle. So good-by for the present.”