“She may have invested it,” said the other, thoughtfully.
“Invested nothing!” exclaimed Oliver.
“But that's not what puzzles me,” said Montague. “Why doesn't Ryder discount the note himself?”
“That's just it! What business has he letting Lucy hawk his notes about the town?”
“Maybe he doesn't know it. Maybe she's trying to keep her affairs from him.”
“Nonsense!” Oliver replied. “I don't believe anything of the sort. What I think is that Stanley Ryder is doing it himself.”
“How do you mean?” asked Montague, in perplexity.
“I believe that he is trying to get his own note discounted. I don't believe that Lucy would ever come to us of herself. She'd starve first. She's too proud.”
“But Stanley Ryder!” protested Montague. “The president of the Gotham Trust Company!”
“That's all right,” said Oliver. “It's his own note, and not the Trust Company's; and I'll wager you he's hard up for cash. There was a big realty company that failed the other day, and I saw that Ryder was one of the stockholders. And he's been hit by that Mississippi Steel slump, and I'll wager you he's scurrying around to raise money. It's just like Lucy, too. Before he gets through, he'll take every dollar she owns.”