"You can understand what you please," said Carter truculently.
"I am not at present. I shall be as soon as it suits Laura's convenience and my own."
"You will kindly understand that I resent your interference with my finances and my daughter's."
"You may resent," said the prospective son-in-law, "till you're black in the face, and I shan't lose sleep over it."
Bang went something outside, and Slade started. "Good Lord," he said, "there's somebody firing at us. Sit down, man, on the floor."
"Nothing of the kind," said Carter testily. "My boy Trouble has got the engines going to try to work us off this bank, and with his usual cleverness he has contrived a back fire, that's all. There--you can smell it. Now, I don't think you are a quarrelsome man as a general thing?"
"Not I. Too much trouble to quarrel with people."
"Well, I'll just ask you to give Laura and myself your benediction, and leave the rest to us."
Slade let off his limp laugh. "If a wedding present of such dubious value will please you, I'm most pleased to give it. Especially as I see you're inclined to stick to my little girl. To tell the truth, I'd heard you were after somebody else and it made me rather mad. You know how rumors float about in the bush."
Carter's lips tightened. "Who's the other person, please?"
"Oh, just my present employer--and your late one. But I've no doubt it's all a mistake."
"If you'll apply to her, I've no doubt she'll endorse that sentiment most thoroughly. I don't think Miss O'Neill's a person to throw herself away on one of her own ex-servants."
Slade chuckled. "If you put it that way, I'm sure she isn't. By the way, do you know who she is?"
"Well, I suppose you've discovered by this time that the late Godfrey O'Neill was a bachelor, and Kate's no relation to him at all. He and his sister Jane, who married a hopeless blackguard called Craven, adopted her between them and brought her up. I've never fagged myself to find out how she was bred, but you're one of these energetic fellows that like to dig into pedigrees, and I thought probably you'd know."
"All right, don't get excited about it, neither shall I. D'ye know I think if you could soften that genial manner without straining yourself, it would be an improvement. I'm led to believe that fathers-in-law expect a civility and even at times a certain mild amount of deference."