"The young person to see you, sir," announces the maid.
The elderly gentleman looks up with a frown, and fixes a pair of hard grey eyes on her face.
"Well, what's the meaning of this?" he says gruffly. "Where's your father?"
Betty pauses a moment.
"Where's your father? I want to see him particularly," repeats Mr. Duncan, still more angrily.
Betty quakes inwardly; but her courage is of the kind that always rises at an emergency, and she explains what has happened in a clear business-like fashion.
"Hem! accident indeed—pretty fix his accident has left me in," grumbles Mr. Duncan, when she has finished. "Have you the money with you?"
Betty produces it. He counts it over. "Why, how's this? There's two pounds short!"
"Father was to collect that to-day, sir; there's a note in his book saying which of the tenants haven't paid yet."
"Hem! bad system. If they can't pay up to time, they ought to go. And what am I to do now, pray?"