"Well, sir?" demanded Mr. Rake.
He said this in a tone that suggested that he had only omitted "what did I tell you?" out of pure politeness.
For Mr. Rake had an unpleasant knack of claiming personal credit for all and sundry happenings, from weddings to earthquakes, no matter how little he had to do with their instigation, that had earned for him amongst his colleagues the title of "Prophet of the Afterwards."
"This, I think," Mr. Rake went on, "effectively settles our friend."
Sir Harry nodded.
"The letter of course was the official suicide, this might aptly be described as the wake."
Arousing no enthusiasm he continued—
"What a remarkable man Lord Tupping is!"
"Yes."
"So popular!"