"You owe the bank a very large sum on these buildings, Don Orsino."
"Secured by mortgages on them," answered the young man quietly, but preparing for trouble.
"Just so. Secured by mortgages. But if the bank should foreclose within the next few months, and if the buildings do not realize the amount secured, Contini and Company are liable for the difference."
"I know that."
"And the market is very bad, Don Orsino, and shows no signs of improvement."
"On the other hand the houses are finished, habitable, and can be let immediately."
"They are certainly finished. You must be aware that the bank has continued to advance the sums necessary for two reasons. Firstly, because an expensive but habitable dwelling is better than a cheap one with no roof. Secondly, because in doing business with Andrea Contini and Company we have been dealing with the only really honest and economical firm in Rome."
Orsino smiled vaguely, but said nothing. He had not much faith in Del Ferice's flattery.
"But that," continued the latter, "does not dispense us from the necessity of realising what is owing to us—I mean the bank—either in money, or in an equivalent—or in an equivalent," he repeated, thoughtfully rolling a big silver pencil case backward and forward upon the table under his fat white hand.
"Evidently," assented Orsino. "Unfortunately, at the present time, there seems to be no equivalent for ready money."