"I hear."
"And remember this," he said without releasing her. "When Fargus asks what we talked about, say that I told you I thought he was hard up and worried over his business."
"I hear."
"And I told you to make him go slow."
"I hear."
"There," he said, smiling and releasing his hold. "Don't be a little fool. Act square and you won't regret it. Au revoir."
It was not until he had gone that she remembered with a shudder of foreboding that he had not once referred to their contract or demanded his account. The thought left her frightened and dismayed. Without a doubt he had changed his plan of campaign. Yet what could be his new purpose and why should he want to cater to her husband's avarice? Did he plan, when he had gained his complete confidence, to carry off by some master stroke what he would have to wait for painfully, year by year? She asked herself twenty such uneasy questions and resolved that, until she had forced Bofinger's confidence she would do nothing to further his purposes.
"Well, have you seen Mr. Bofinger yet?" Fargus asked on his return.
"He called."
"Indeed," he said with a start. "And what did you talk about?"