"In bed, I fancy. You need have no fear of her."
Silence fell upon them again. Their affairs were difficult, and Holbrook, waiting patiently for the other to broach his errand, drew out his tobacco-pouch and pipe and began to smoke.
"Patricia is here, and Helen is with her," said the visitor.
"Yes, we are all here, it seems," remarked Holbrook dryly. "It's a nice family gathering."
"I suppose you haven't seen them?" demanded the visitor.
"Yes and no. I have no wish to meet them; but I've had several narrow escapes. They have cut me off from my walks; but I shall leave here shortly."
"Yes, you are going, you are going—" began the visitor eagerly.
"I am going, but not until after you have gone," said Holbrook. "By some strange fate we are all here, and it is best for certain things to be settled before we separate again. I have tried to keep out of your way; I have sunk my identity; I have relinquished the things of life that men hold dear—honor, friends, ambition, and now you and I have got to have a settlement."
"You seem rather sure of yourself," sneered the older, turning uneasily in his chair.
"I am altogether sure of myself. I have been a fool, but I see the error of my ways and I propose to settle matters with you now and here. You have got to drop your game of annoying Patricia; you've got to stop using your own daughter as a spy—"