"If I had five or ten thousand dollars to spare, I would start at once."
"Haven't you that much, James?" she asked, with interest.
"Not in ready money. My cash is tied up in investments. But you could loan me the amount, couldn't you, my love?"
Mrs. Talbot's face flushed, and her eyes sought the floor. She had been afraid that this was what was coming.
"I—I suppose so," she faltered, hardly knowing what to say.
"Of course you would be secured. I would see to that."
"Yes, James, I would want that. For the money is to go to Robert, you know."
His face fell. "The boy always!" he thought. "Oh, I wish he would never be heard from again!"
"But if I make a barrel of money out of my investments, that must go to you," he said aloud.