"He is half-witted and has lost his memory.He is working now at one of the Basle mission-places near Attra.""And why have you not told me this before?"Da Souza shrugged his shoulders."It was not necessary,"he said.
"Our interests were the same,it was better for you not to know.""He remembers nothing,then?"Da Souza hesitated."Oom Sam,"he said,"my half-brother,keeps an eye on him.Sometimes he gets restless,he talks,but what matter?
He has no money.Soon he must die.He is getting an old man!""I shall send for him,"Trent said slowly."He shall have his share!"It was the one fear which had kept Da Souza silent.The muscles of his face twitched,and his finger-nails were buried in the flesh of his fat,white hands.Side by side he had worked with Trent for years without being able to form any certain estimate of the man or his character.Many a time he had asked himself what Trent would do if he knew -only the fear of his complete ignorance of the man had kept him silent all these years.Now the crisis had come!He had spoken!It might mean ruin.
"Send for him?"Da Souza said."Why?His memory has gone -save for occasional fits of passion in which he raves at you.What would people say?-that you tried to kill him with brandy,that the clause in the concession was a direct incentive for you to get rid of him,and you left him in the bush only a few miles from Buckomari to be seized by the natives.Besides,how can you pay him half?I know pretty well how you stand.On paper,beyond doubt you are a millionaire;but what if all claims were suddenly presented against you to be paid in sovereigns?I tell you this,my friend,Mr.
Scarlett Trent,and I am a man of experience and I know.To-day in the City it is true that you could raise a million pounds in cash,but let me whisper a word,one little word,and you would be hard pressed to raise a thousand.It is true there is the Syndicate,that great scheme of yours yesterday from which you were so careful to exclude me -you are to get great monies from them in cash.Bah!
don't you see that Monty's existence breaks up that Syndicate -smashes it into tiny atoms,for you have sold what was not yours to sell,and they do not pay for that,eh?They call it fraud!"He paused,out of breath,and Trent remained silent;he knew very well that he was face to face with a great crisis.Of all things this was the most fatal which could have happened to him.Monty alive!He remembered the old man's passionate cry for life,for pleasure,to taste once more,for however short a time,the joys of wealth.Monty alive,penniless,half-witted,the servant of a few ill-paid missionaries,toiling all day for a living,perhaps fishing with the natives or digging,a slave still,without hope or understanding,with the end of his days well in view!Surely it were better to risk all things,to have him back at any cost?Then a thought more terrible yet than any rose up before him like a spectre,there was a sudden catch at his heart-strings,he was cold with fear.What would she think of the man who deserted his partner,an old man,while life was yet in him,and safety close at hand?
Was it possible that he could ever escape the everlasting stigma of cowardice -ay,and before him in great red letters he saw written in the air that fatal clause in the agreement,to which she and all others would point with bitter scorn,indubitable,overwhelming evidence against him.He gasped for breath and walked restlessly up and down the room.Other thoughts came crowding in upon him.He was conscious of a new element in himself.The last few years had left their mark upon him.With the handling of great sums of money and the acquisition of wealth had grown something of the financier's fever.He had become a power,solidly and steadfastly he had hewn his way into a little circle whose fascination had begun to tell in his blood.Was he to fall without a struggle from amongst the high places,to be stripped of his wealth,shunned as a man who was morally,if not in fact,a murderer,to be looked upon with never-ending scorn by the woman whose picture for years had been a religion to him,and whose appearance only a few hours ago had been the most inspiring thing which had entered into his life?He looked across the lawn into the pine grove with steadfast eyes and knitted brows,and Da Souza watched him,ghastly and nervous.At least he must have time to decide!
"If you send for him,"Da Souza said slowly,"you will be absolutely ruined.It will be a triumph for those whom you have made jealous,who have measured their wits with yours and gone under.Oh!but the newspapers will enjoy it -that is very certain.Our latest millionaire,his rise and fall!Cannot you see it in the placards?
And for what?To give wealth to an old man long past the enjoyment of it-ay,imbecile already!You will not be a madman,Trent?"Trent winced perceptibly.Da Souza saw it and rejoiced.There was another awkward silence.Trent lit a cigar and puffed furiously at it.
"I will think it over,at least,"he said in a low tone."Bring back your wife and daughter,and leave me alone for a while.""I knew,"Da Souza murmured,"that my friend would be reasonable.""And the young ladies?""Send them to -""I will send them back to where they came from,"Da Souza interrupted blandly.
