He opened the sheets, and frowned at them,
and coughed. "Nay!" said he. "There's nothing else for it. I must
smoke."
And he produced a charred pipe which might or might not have been
the gift of Mrs. Maldon, filled it, struck a match on his boot,
and turbulently puffed outrageous quantities of smoke. Louis, with
singular courage, lit a cigarette, which gave him a little ease of
demeanour, if not confidence.
II
And then at length Julian began to read--
"'Before I went to South Africa last autumn I found myself in
considerable business difficulties. The causes of said difficulties
were bad trade, unfair competition, and price-cutting at home and
abroad, especially in Germany, and the modern spirit of unrest among
the working-classes making it impossible for an employer to be master
on his own works. I was not insolvent, but I needed capital, the
life-blood of industry. In justice to myself I ought to explain that
my visit to South Africa was very carefully planned and thought out. I
had a good reason to believe that a lot of business in door-furniture
could be done there, and that I could obtain some capital from a
customer in Durban. I point this out merely because trade rivals have
tried to throw ridicule upon me for going out to South Africa when I
did.
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