“Certainly, certainly,” muttered Cammerford hastily, evidently all aquiver with excitement and anxiety.
When we reached his apartments he thrust out his hand eagerly for the letter, which I gave to him. He ripped it open on the instant, and, standing by the window, read it through to the end, then, tossing it on the table, he threw back his head and gave utterance to a peal of laughter which had an undercurrent of relief in it.
“I was to tell you,” said I, as soon as I could make myself heard, “that this document is by way of being an ultimatum, and if you do not see fit to accept it——”
“Oh, that’s all right, my dear boy,” he cried, interrupting me. “Accept it? Of course I do, but first I must tender an abject apology to you.”
“There is no necessity, Mr. Cammerford,” I protested, “I hope that is not a proviso in the communication?”
“No, my dear boy, it is not. I offer the apology most sincerely on my own initiative. Actually I took you for a fool, but you are a damned sight shrewder man than I am. I told you when you were here that I could not get on to your game, but now I see it straight as a string, and I wonder I was such a chump as not to suspect it before. Tremorne, you’re a genius. Of course your proper way of working was through the old man with that cursed high-bred air of honesty which you can assume better than any one I ever met. That kind of thing was bound to appeal to the old man because he’s such an unmitigated rogue himself. Yes, my dear boy, you’ve played your cards well, and I congratulate you.”
“I haven’t the least idea what you are driving at,” I said.
“Do you mean to tell me you don’t know what is in this letter?”
“The letter was delivered to me sealed, and I have delivered it sealed to you. I have no more notion what it contains than you had before I handed it to you.”
“Is that really a fact? Well, Tremorne, you’re a constant puzzle and delight to me. This world would be a less interesting place if you were out of it. It is an ever-recurring problem to me whether you’re deep or shallow; but if you are shallow I’ll say this, that it cuts more ice than depth would do. Well, just cast your eyes over the last paragraph in that letter.” He tossed across the final sheet to me, and I read as follows: