"More than I want," replied Hunsaker grimly. "I've been much imposed upon, Mr. Quinney, with mahogany."
Susan flitted quietly from the room. Posy began to rub the lacquer of the Chinese cabinet. She heard her father saying:
"Dear, dear! I've been done, too—crisp as a biscuit! Everybody's done, hey?"
"I'm never done twice by the same man." He bent down to examine the carving of the chairs. "These are immense—the finest I've ever seen."
"By Gum! I wish you could have seen the settee which I sold to the Grand Duke of Roosia."
Hunsaker hardly heard him. He was becoming absorbed in the chairs.
"The papers report you as having paid nine hundred pounds for the set."
Quinney chuckled, nodding his head.
"That's right! I'd had two glasses of old brown sherry after lunch. My tip to all and sundry is: Buy before lunch, unless you're a blooming vegetarian and teetotaler."
Hunsaker prided himself upon the directness of his business methods. He said tentatively: