"Failure of Gifford's Bank."
Then he looked at the letter:
"Gifford's Bank suspended business yesterday!" Back his eye travelled to the paper: "Gifford's Bank has closed its doors!" He was quite unable, at first, to grasp the full significance of the contents of that letter and newspaper. He turned to Ethel:
"Eh?" he gasped.
"Pity," she murmured, trying to find a particular piece of music amongst the mass on the piano.
"We're ruined!" reiterated Mrs. Chichester.
Then the real meaning of those cryptic headlines and the business-like letter broke in on Alaric. All the Chichester blood was roused in him.
"Now that's what I call a downright, rotten, blackguardly shame—a BLACKGUARDLY SHAME!" His voice rose in tones as it increased in intensity until it almost reached a shriek.
Something was expected of him. At any rate indignation. Well, he was certainly indignant.
"Closed its doors, indeed!" he went on. "Why should it close its doors? That's what I want to know! Why—should—it?" and he glared at the unoffending letter and the non-committal newspaper.