“Never mind the heart; if the head be well, it will take care of it. Reach me that pocket-book; I want to acquit one debt to you before I incur another. No humbug between us;” and he pressed some notes into the other's palm as he spoke. “Let us understand each other fully, and at once. I 'm not very ill; but I want you.”
“And I am at your orders.”
“Faithfully,—loyally?”
“Faithfully,—loyally!” repeated the other after him.
“You've read the papers lately,—you've seen these attacks on me?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what do they say and think here—I mean in this house—about them? How do they discuss them? Remember, I want candor and frankness; no humbug. I'll not stand humbug.”
“The women are against you.”