As George stepped out of the front door he came face to face with Bawdsey, who was mounting the steps. The man seemed excited, and carried a carelessly folded newspaper which he had apparently been reading. He did not seemed pleased to meet Brendon, and looked at him in a suspicious manner. "I didn't expect to see you here!" he said, with a certain degree of roughness. "I did not know that this house was interdicted to me," replied Brendon, sharply. He liked neither the tone nor the peremptory manner of Bawdsey, and, moreover, was not prepossessed in his favor by the report which Lord Derrington had made of the man's duplicity. "I am glad to meet you, however," continued George, "as I wish to have a few words." "I am too busy to give you any time," retorted Bawdsey, and tried to enter the house. "Nevertheless, you will give me a quarter of an hour," said George, blocking the doorway with his stalwart form. "What I have to say cannot be left until a more convenient period." "I tell you I am busy, Mr. Brendon." "And I tell you that I intend to have this interview," rejoined Brewton, imperiously. "You talk a great deal about gratitude, Bawdsey, yet you are unwilling to put yourself out for me in the least degree." Bawdsey became penitent at once. "It is true, Mr. Brendon. But I am very worried." He cast a glance at the newspaper in his hand. "However, you have first call upon my time, so we will go to my room." "That's as it should be." No more words passed. Bawdsey mounted the stairs and led George into the well-remembered room. Brendon took a chair, and Bawdsey, with an anxious look, threw himself into another. The man's face was flushed, his red hair was in disorder, and his eyes were bright. As a rule he was calm and self-controlled, so George conjectured that something particularly important must have occurred to upset him. However, Bawdsey's troubles were none of his business, and he began talking at once of his reason for seeking the interview. "I had a conversation with Lord Derrington the other evening," he said deliberately, "and we talked of you." "Then you heard no good of me," replied Bawdsey, with a sneer. "Lord Derrington does not like me." "That matters little. No liking can exist between a man in Lord Derrington's position and his paid servant." "Oh, you call me that, do you, sir?" "What else are you? Lord Derrington engaged you as his agent to watch me, and that you have done." "Not lately. I have given you a free hand." "In any case I have a free hand," said George, loftily. "You were grateful enough for my service in saving your life to release me from your espionage, but had you not done so I should have taken means to put a stop to your dogging my footsteps." "You would not have known had I not told you, Mr. Brendon." "Oh, yes, I should. In any case, I should have seen my grandfather, and he would have told me." "No, sir. He is your enemy." "That is where you are wrong, Bawdsey. He is my friend."