Edward Drake was present at the interview, and rejoiced to see that Gaunt no longer hesitated, but was now even more determined to fulfil his vow.
“I should like these articles to be sent out at once—to-day if possible,” Gaunt continued quickly.
“It shall be done,” the secretary answered promptly.
For years he had waged a war against overwhelming odds and now he began to hope that success was in sight. Always he had lacked the help of such a man as Gaunt, with his millions, and he thanked Providence for his good fortune, but still, like the rest of the world, he could not quite understand why the millionaire had thrown himself into the fray.
Gaunt had devoted his brains to planning out the best way of rousing the country, and no detail was too small for his consideration. It was after a hard but satisfactory day’s work that he returned home with Drake, and during the drive was wondering how he would be received by his wife. They did not meet until dinner time, and Lady Mildred showed him quite plainly but politely that she had not forgiven him for having refused to go away in the yacht.
In fact, during the meal, they were all conscious of a feeling of embarrassment, and it was a relief when the ladies left them to their cigars. Gaunt only spoke in answer to a question, for he was thinking over his position, and it seemed to him that the crisis must be very near at hand. The few hours of grace given to him by the Baron had elapsed, and it would not be long before his enemies made a move.
The next morning the newspapers were brought to him at an early hour, and the first thing that caught his eye was the front page of the Daily Comet, with its staring head-lines:
“Gaunt and the Congo.”
And then he proceeded to read a bitter attack upon himself, and was forced to admit that the article had been written with the greatest skill, for it consisted of insinuations against his character which it would be difficult to rebut. The deal in Amanti shares was referred to in veiled terms, although to those on the inside the meaning was quite clear. The writer proceeded to refer to Gaunt’s life in the Congo, and the words which followed were pungent.
“This millionaire has allied himself with the Church, perhaps in the hope that the friendship of bishops would cause to be forgotten the means by which he gained his ill-gotten wealth. As we write there is before us a written record of this man’s life in the Congo, and it seems incredible that he can have the effrontery to pretend that his aim is the betterment of the race that he himself has persecuted so atrociously.