Naturally, Mr Burt acted as traffic
officer.
When your father was out of sight, Swann was
tempted to go to theoffice; he had a key. I also know that you made up your mind to
acttowards me as he had acted towards you. She hadpersuaded him to come with her by
the tale of what she would do forhis sons.
She understood the wholecomplexity of the
situation.
Then, as if changing his mind, hestopped. And you
wanted to protect your fathers name? So I builtArbala and forced the Langholm mill
into a price war.
The mill at Arbala, the father said at last, you
say was builtfor a purpose. Control in one hand was a dangerous thing.
But allyou did had, for that very reason, an effect
diametrically opposedto the one you aimed at.
Mr Clark was not in; so I toldMr Burt to sit down
and wait in the hall.
Here was what he haddreaded; what he had refused to
believe; what he had avoidedlooking into.
He came; and an appointment was made over the
telephone.
I shall needhis vote even against him; and it
cannot be done any other way. I was also puzzled to probe the exact spirit in which
Burt wasgiving the tale. She settled half a millionfrancs annually on him and
promised to keep up the estate for thesons.
It was a marvel, Burt said, that the young lady had
not beenstruck by the flying glass. She hadpersuaded him to come with her by the
tale of what she would do forhis sons.
He had hardly left the house when Mr Clark looked
at me out ofhaggard eyes. For several days before that shareholders meeting there
had beentension between father and son.
He stepped up on the running board, by her side,
and tried to kissher. She would have been a tower ofstrength to me.