MR. SMEETH IS WORRIED 483

"I shouldn't think Mr. Golspie cared very much,
certainly/' said Mr. Smeeth thoughtfully. "But I don't
know that I quite see him in that light, though you know
him better than I do, I'll admit that, Mr. Dersingham.
But—I don't know—"

"If you don't mind my saying so, Smeeth/1 said Mr.
Dersingham, grinning at him, "there are times when
you're just a bit of an old washerwoman, and I'm not
sure this isn't one of them. No, no, don't mind that—
I know you're a good chap, and I can honestly say I
wouldn't like to run this show without you. Now, look
here, will you work out that total properly, as soon as
you can, and let me know what we're likely to get in
these next two weeks, what we've got in hand, and so on,
and then we'll settle the whole thing. Right you are."

The latter part of this speech was all so friendly that
Mr. Smeeth could not take offence at the "bit of an old
washerwoman/' He left the room feeling that he ought
to be convinced, and almost ashamed of himself because
he could not share Mr. Dersingham's sudden burst of
confidence. The fact remained, though, that he still felt
dubious. There was something in Mr, Dersingharn's
tone of voice that made him wince. He did not like this
easy dismissal of Mr. Golspie; there was a catch in it
somewhere; and he felt that Mr. Dersingham was taking
the wrong line with Mr. Golspie. What was it that
Turgis had said, reporting the daughter? He wondered
if he ought to have mentioned that, but then quickly
dismissed the possibility. Mr. Dersingham knew what
he was doing. He talked as if he did. Indeed, he talked
too much as if he did. Mr. Smeeth, with his apprehen-
sive mind, always felt a slight alarm when anybody was
triumphantly confident. You had to be careful.