The Whirlpool

e in places vastly more interesting, and under a pure sky? He was a citizen of no city at all, and had less desire than ever to bind himself to a permanent habitation. All very well so long a

o his bank this mo

at the counter, waiting with his cheque.

at the "Britann

bank?

ere were a lot of people standing abou

quiet routine of the bank was suspended; the news passed from mouth to mouth; newcomers swelled a gossiping group in front of the counter, and Harvey listened. The general tone was cynical; the

remarked one of the speake

d, hanging loose in animated talk, as after some exciting occurrence; and before the bank itself was gathered a throng of men, respectability's silk hats mingling with the felts and caps of lower strata. Here and there a voice could be heard raised in anger, but the prevailing emotion seemed to be mere curiosity. The people who would suffer m

and a voice said h

d! too

friend in the same moment that he got near enough

ost no time,' he ad

warning

a few yards away

gham shot himse

isagreeable heart-shock, with t

e? At

is morning, and as I was having breakfast, Sibyl rushed in. She brought the news; had it from some friend of her mother's, a man connected somehow with Stock

the

ughed m

It was just a toss-up that a good deal

any more abou

it got known. We shall have it from the papers prese

mean absolute ru

shall hear that some of the others have bolted. It'll

presentiments,'

l it's too late. I must get home again with my agreeable news. You'll be going to

round tonight

nly one thing I know for certain-that I shall ge

ich differed little from unconcern. Bennet Frothingham, no doubt, had played a rascally game, foreseeing all along the issues of defeat. As to his wife and daughter, it would be strange if they were not provided for; suffer who might, they would probably live on in material comfort, and nowadays that was the first consideration. He was surprised that their calamity left him so unmoved; it showed conclusively how artificial were his relations with these persons; in no sense did he belong to their world; for all his foolish flutterings, Alma Frothingham remained a stranger to him, alien from every point of view, personal, intel

ourse; exciting avarice, perturbing quiet industry with the passion of the gamester, inflating vulgar ambition, now at length scattering wreck and ruin

ning, and for a third time at about eleven, when the printing of the paper was in full swing. 'It was supposed by the persons whom he then saw that Mr. Frothingham finally quitted the office; whether he actually left the building or not seems to remain uncertain. If so, he re-entered without being observed, which does not seem likely. Between two and three o'clock this morning, when Stock and Share was practically ready for distribution, a man employed on the premises is said, for some unexplained reason, to have ascended to the top floor of the building, and to

d by its significance. That room, his first place of business, the scene of poor beginnings, Bennet Frothingham had chosen for his place of death. Perhaps he had long foreseen this possibility, had mused upon the dramatic fitness of such an end; for there was a strain of

d quarrelled with his wife, and, rather than go home in the early hours of the morning, he hit upon the idea of finding a sleeping-place here on the premises, to which he could slink unnoticed. 'It's little enough s

iously and successfully was the situation dealt with by the sub-editor and his informant. When, after an examination by the doctor, who had been summoned in all secrecy, it became necessary to communicate with the police, the employees had all gone away, and the printed sheets had been conveyed to the distributing agent

ess, it was pretty safe to surmise that alarming disclosures awaited the public. No one, of course, would be justified in pre

ontact with Buncombe or Mrs Handover, made an effort to absorb himself in a volume of Gregorovius, which was at present his study. The attempt was futile. Talk still seemed to buzz about him; his temples throbbed; his thoughts wandered far and wide

think not, I shall be off tomorrow to Greystone for a few days. I feel as if we were all being swept into a ghastly whirlpool which roar

e street, a pretence of exercise. On his way back he was preceded by a telegraph boy, who stopped at Buncombe's fr

t na

ol

me, t

open the

once? Something has

e stood reflecting. What could have happened that Edgar Abbott should summon him? Had his wife run away?- A

he saw that all the blinds in the front of the Abbotts' house were drawn down. Death, th

Abbot

t with a mumbled 'Will you please to come in, sir?' He followed her to the room in which he had talked with

has telegrap

ggled with a sob

he is

rcing. It seemed to Harvey as though the word were

ea

ould see her face better. S

p well-and then his neuralgia. The girl foun

ted to t

had taken an overd

d to work late-and then he m

y h

r its subdual to a sound that could not pass beyond the room. Her struggle for sel

t to tell you all the truth, as I know it. I can't tell it before

tion. His embarrassment was heightened by an inability to identify this woman with the Mrs. Abbott he had known; the change in her self-presentment seemed as great and sudden as that in her circumstances

ver have left me in that way-to my despair. But it was my fault that made him angry-no, not angry

tself. She sank down upon a

ates every little f

ou know that he went to Waterbury, on business. Did he tell you?-it was to buy a share in a local newspaper. I, in my blindness and selfishness, disliked that. I wanted to live here; the thought of going to live in the

ener sai

s money-the small capital he counted upon-was in "Britannia" shares; and you know what happened yesterday

gave a

and I showed th

se yourself u

taught me what I was doing. I wanted to ask him to forgive me-to comfort him for his loss; but pride kept me from it. I couldn't speak-I couldn't! After dinner he said he had a lot of work to do, and came into this room. At ten o'clock I sent him coffee. I wis

ed her. Harvey felt hi

he went upstairs for his draught, and then-not having finished his work-he thought he would lie down on

moning an accent of conviction. 'I knew him v

it? You feel it imp

may assure yourself that it was pure acci

eaning towards him, her

d. But what right have I to seek comfort for myself? Was I any less the caus

n the needlessness of divulging anything beyond the

ly my fault. I hadn't the honesty to speak out and say what was in my mind. I never openly opposed his wish to leave London. I pretended to agree to everything, pretended. He showed me all his reas

self so with mere thoughts, o

lad he couldn't carry out his purpose. He looked at me as he never had done befor

itness for such an office. It relieved him when, without undue abruptness, he could pass to the practical urgencies o

one who would take them

a dread of children.' Her sister was a governess in Ireland; other near relatives she had none. Edgar Abbot

ents, was a call to active usefulness; he

at Waterbury who would be a fit per

mentioned, an

telegrams at

ay it was a

is morning. In the house where I live there is a decent woman who I dare say would be

don't know how

g her here; then I shall see you again. In any case, of course, I will come b

no one I

e people you know

sense. I understand it now-f

was the name of that lady I met her

friendly, but she lives at Gunnersbur

f Mrs Langland. She dwelt clearly in his mind as 'a woman with no nonsense about her', likely to be of much helpfulness at a crisis

her to come. But I hav

I think, if s

Bayswater, posting the letter and d

visit to Greyst