After removing the signs of battle, so far as he could, from his clothes and person, Mappin returned to his office and spent the day there, waiting for a visit from his rival. Allinson, however, did not come; it looked as though he meant to do nothing, and this caused Mappin some uneasiness. The man was cleverer and perhaps, more to be feared than he had thought.
CHAPTER XXII
FRESH PLANS
Geraldine Frobisher, sitting by the hearth in her drawing-room, glanced compassionately at Andrew. He looked gaunt and very weary, and she noticed a significant slackness in his pose. There was no one else in the room; the lamps were lighted and a log fire diffused a pleasant glow and an aromatic odor.
"You are quiet to-night," she said.
Andrew looked up with a deprecatory smile.
"I fear I'm disgracefully dull; but I don't seem able to think of anything except that it's very pleasant to be here again."
"You consider that a good excuse?"
"I can't judge; I felt that I needed one. In fact, I don't know what is the matter with me since I came down-river."
Geraldine had some idea; a glance at the man supplied an explanation.