Waynefleet turned and looked at Acton with lifted brows, and had he been less angry, Nasmyth could have laughed at his attitude. Waynefleet’s air of supercilious resentment was inimitable.
“You have some interest in this affair?” he inquired.
“Oh, yes,” answered Acton cheerfully. “Still, you needn’t worry about me. All you have to do is to hand this man over the money and record the new sale. We don’t want any unpleasantness, but it has to be done.”
Waynefleet appeared to recognize that there was no remedy.
“In that case there is the difficulty that I can’t quite raise the amount paid,” he said. “Travelling and my stay in the city have cost me something.”
“How much are you short?”
“About a hundred dollars.”
“Then,” replied Acton, “I’ll take a bill for the money. We’ll go along and record the sale as soon as Mr. Nasmyth’s ready. I expect he has something to say to you.”
Acton went into the hotel with Hames, and there was an awkward silence when they had disappeared. Nasmyth leaned against a wooden pillar, and Waynefleet sat still, waiting for him to speak. Nasmyth turned to him.