He stammered:
"Do you mean to say it's genuine?"
"You'd almost think so, wouldn't you?" said Edward Henry. He was [54] growing fond of this reply, and of the enigmatic, playful tone that he had invented for it.
"But—"
"We may, as you say, look twice at a fiver," continued Edward Henry. "But we're apt to be careless about hundred-pound notes in this district. I daresay that's why I always carry one."
"But it's burnt!"
"Only just the edge. Not enough to harm it. If any bank in England refuses it, return it to me and I'll give you a couple more in exchange. Is that talking?"
"Well, I'm dashed!" Mr. Bryany attempted to rise, and then subsided back into his chair. "I am simply and totally dashed!" He smiled weakly, hysterically.
And in that instant Edward Henry felt all the sweetness of a complete and luscious revenge.
He said commandingly: