“You’ll stand by me, Wraile?” he said gruffly. “I count on you.”
“I will, of course, General, if you’re determined on it; I know well enough that I owe everything to you—but I’m sorry you’ve decided to exchange Lessingham for Fratten—I’m convinced that one’s the man for our job and the other isn’t.”
Before Sir Hunter could reply, the door opened and Sir Garth Fratten was announced.
“Good-morning, Lorne,” he said. “Very good of you to let me come round.”
“Come in, my dear fellow, come in!” exclaimed the General, advancing to meet him with outstretched hand. “Delighted to see you. Let me introduce Captain Wraile to you—one of our directors. He was our managing-director till a year or so ago but he was enticed away to a more glittering post than we can afford, what? Ha, ha.” He clapped Wraile on the shoulder to show that he bore him no grudge. “But we were lucky enough to keep him on the Board. He was my Brigade Major in France in ’15—don’t know what I should have done without him—ran the whole show—most efficient fellow you ever saw—don’t blush, my boy; you know I mean it. Marvellous hand at inventing devilments—stink-bombs, rifle grenades, every sort of beastliness he used to contrive for poor old Jerry—long before the authorities dished us out even a ‘jam-pot.’ You ought to have seen our catapult battery behind the Pope’s Nose at Festubert! Ha, ha, that was an eye-opener for Fritz.”
Sir Hunter laughed uproariously, but Wraile, who was intimately acquainted with the moods of his old chief, knew that he was nervous.
“I’m very glad to meet you, Captain Wraile,” said Sir Garth, smiling pleasantly at him. “A little fresh blood and ingenuity is the very thing that’s wanted in post-war finance. May I sit down, Lorne? I’m rather a crock just now and have to nurse myself.”
“My dear fellow, I’m so sorry—inexcusable of me! Have a glass of port [the General’s panacea]—no?—a cigar, anyhow—Corona Corona, handpicked by myself, every one of ’em.”
“I’ll leave you, sir,” said Wraile. “I expect you and Sir Garth want to have a talk.”
“Not the least need for you to go so far as I’m concerned,” said the banker. “You’ve told him what I came round about, Lorne?”