MISS MATFIELD'S NEW YEAR 399

"This is the fourth letter he's sent explaining why he
can't pay, and every time it's a different excuse. By the
way, remind me to send Sandycroft a note, telling him
not to call there any more. All right, I'll write some-
thing shorter and stronger. ' Unless our account is
settled within the next fourteen days, we shall be obliged
to take—what is it?—proceedings/ Something like that,
eh? Right you are, then. Cancel that one. We'll start
again.''

That did not take long. The note to Sandycroft could
be left to Miss Matfield. She was given several letters
that Mr. Smeeth could attend to, and then there was
nothing left 'Tm expecting Mr. Golspie back this
morning," said Mr. Dersingham. "Hell probably have
some letters for you. He rang me up last night, at home,
to say he'd just arrived and would be down this morn-
ing. Just take this lot, will you? Half a minute, though,
I must have another look at that North-Western and
Trades Furnishing letter. Hang on a minute/'

Miss Matfield, hanging on, found she was quite ex-
cited by the prospect of seeing Mr. Golspie again so
soon, though she had been expecting him to return any
time these last few days. It was not quite three weeks
since she had stood by his side on the deck of that
steamer in the Thames, but, nevertheless, Mr. Golspie
strictly as a person, a face, a body, a voice, had become
curiously dim and unreal, though as a figure in outline
and as a mass of character he had been constantly in her
thoughts, where he had appeared, especially during the
last few days, hardly as a real person she knew, but
rather as a particularly vivid and memorable character
in a play she had seen or a novel she had recently read.
It was queer and exciting to think that he would