"Keene asked me. In
fact, that's the appointment. Strange he didn't speak of you," he added
dryly.
"I suppose it's some later arrangement," Markham replied, with feigned
carelessness. "Do you know her?"
"Slightly."
"You didn't say so!"
"You didn't ask me," said Brimmer. "She came to consult me about South
American affairs. It seems that filibuster General Leonidas, alias
Perkins, whose little game we stopped by that Peruvian contract,
actually landed in Quinquinambo and established a government. It seems
she knows him, has a great admiration for him as a Liberator, as she
calls him. I think they correspond!"
"She's a wonderful woman, by jingo, Brimmer! I'd like to hear whom she
don't know," said Markham, beaming with a patronizing vanity. "There's
you, and there's that filibuster, and old Governor Pico, that she's just
snatched bald-headed--I mean, you know, that he recognizes her worth,
don't you see? Not like this cattle you see here."
"Are you coming with me?" said Brimmer, gravely buttoning up his coat,
as if encasing himself in a panoply of impervious respectability.
"I'll join you at the hotel," said Markham hurriedly. "There's a man
over there in the parquet that I want to say a word to; don't wait for
me.
Pages:
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203