"Yes, twice. There's the magnet"--pointing to Miriam. "It isn't me, bless you, not me," added the old man, with a chuckle, as he proceeded to poke the fire vigorously.
To say that Gerald was mystified is to say no more than the truth. But it was evident that whatever Byrne might have to tell him with regard to his plans and purposes, he was not inclined to tell yet, and Gerald would not question him.
"Does Mr. Van Duren keep up a large establishment?" he said.
"No: a small one. Everything on a miserly scale. Every item of expenditure cut down to the lowest possible point."
"Perhaps he is poor."
"Poor! my dear sir. Tcha! When did you ever know a money-lender to be poor?"
"But I did not know that Van Duren was a money-lender."
"That's what he is: neither more nor less."
"Then, in that case, he must be a man of capital?"
"Certainly, to some extent. But you never know how the webs of such spiders as he interlace and cross each other. Perhaps he is only used as a decoy to catch foolish flies for bigger and older spiders than himself. But, in any case, you may be sure that he comes in for a good share of the plunder."