It was a relief to Thor to be able to say with some heartiness, "I know that, father."
"Not that I didn't have some difficult situations to face on account of it. When the Toogood executors withdrew the old man's money it would have gone hard with me if I hadn't been able to—to"—Thor paused in his walk, waiting for what was coming—"if I hadn't been able to command confidence in other directions," the father finished, quietly.
Thor hastened to divert the conversation from his own affairs. "Mr. Willoughby put his money in then, didn't he?"
"That was one thing," Masterman admitted, coldly.
Thor could speak the more daringly because his march up and down kept him behind his father's back. "And now, I understand, you think of dropping him."
"I shouldn't be dropping him. That's not the way to put it. He drops himself—automatically." The clock on the mantelpiece ticked a few times before he added, "I can't go on supporting him."
"Do you mean that he's used up all the capital he put in?"
"That's what it comes to. He's spent enormous sums. At times it's been near to crippling me. But I can't keep it up. He's got to go. Besides, the big, drunken oaf is a disgrace to me. I can't afford to be associated with him any longer."
Thor came round to the fireplace, where he stood on the hearth-rug, his arm on the mantelpiece. "But, father, what'll he do?"
"Surely that's his own lookout. Bessie's got money still. I didn't get all of it, by any means."