"Nay!" and he salaamed as he spoke; "I have come hither on a little business; I know nought of smell, but the sight of money is ever good." He grinned broadly at his own pleasantry and displayed several yellow stumps.
"Behold my new grandchild, Abdul," cried Mrs. Lopez, indicating Verona with flattering complacency; "is she not well grown?"
Once more he salaamed, and the girl slightly bent her head in acknowledgment of the salute.
"He manages your mother's little property," continued the old woman, "and has doubled her income. Oh, he is very clever!"
"I hope he will double this gold," said Mrs. Chandos, piling it up into neat rows. "See, Abdul, three hundred English sovereigns; it belongs to my daughter; it is her fortune," and as she spoke she filled both hands with the coin and held them towards him with a playful air. "Don't you wish it was all yours?"
"Money, in a woman's hands, won't last; a child, left in the hands of a man, won't live," quoted Mrs. Lopez with impressive solemnity.
"But Abdul will invest it for Verona, and get her good interest—won't you, Abdul?" said Mrs. Chandos; "say one hundred and fifty rupees a year." As she spoke she turned towards him, and their eyes met in one long, fixed look.
"Oh, yess; certainly," he answered, "I can promise thatt. Oh, yess."
"Then you will invest in sugar?"
"Oh, yess."