I lit a cigarette and didn’t say anything for quite a while. She was watching me anxiously. “Well?” she asked.

I said, “Okay, sister. I’ll have to get some money. I haven’t enough with me.”

“But you can get it?”

“Of course.”

“From Ashbury?”

“Yes.”

“When can you have it?”

“As soon as Ashbury gets back. He’s up north on a mining deal.”

“He was up with you?”

“Yes.”