“Doesn’t seem to matter to me who hears me now. The game’s up.”
“No, no, wait till that fellow comes and makes his examination.”
“Oh yes. I’ll wait. Here by twelve, won’t he? But I’m not going to pin my faith to his coming. To me as good an idea as ever man put upon the market has gone dead.”
“Yes, curse you, and ruined me,” growled Jessop. “You always were so cursed clever.”
“Come, I like that; ruined you, eh? Ruin the ruined. Why, for years past you’ve never been worth a rap, and have had to come to me to keep you going.”
“And pretty dearly I’ve had to pay for it.”
“Yes; a man who wants his bills discounted, and who is known to be stone broke, does have to pay pretty smartly for the risk that is run. But never mind, Jessop, we must try something else. I say, though, that father-in-law of yours is a tartar. You don’t expect to get anything out of him, do you?”
“He must leave his daughter his money.”
“No, he mustn’t. There are plenty of hospitals and charities about. He’ll never let you have a sou.”
“Can’t you find some other cursedly nasty thing to tell me, Wrig,” snarled Jessop. “It’s infernally cowardly of you, that’s what it is. Thank goodness, here’s the engineer.”