I can trust you, of
course?"
"As fully as if the business were my own," was the unhesitating
answer.
"So I have believed. The fact is, Henry, I have become so entangled
in this cotton mill business with Squire Floyd, Dewey, and others,
that I find myself in a maze of bewildering uncertainty. The Squire
and Ralph are at loggerheads, and seem to me to be getting matters
snarled up. There is no denying the fact that this summary footing
of our accounts, as executors, has tended to cripple affairs. We
were working up to the full extent of capital invested, and the
absence of a hundred thousand dollars--or its representative
security--has made financiering a thing of no easy consideration."
"I am afraid, Judge Bigelow," said Wallingford, as the old man
paused, "that you are in the hands of one who, to gain his own ends,
would sacrifice you without a moment's hesitation."
"Who?"
"You will permit me to speak plainly, Judge."
"Say on. The plain speech of a friend is better than the flatteries
of an enemy."
"I have no faith in Ralph Dewey."
The two men looked steadily at each other for some moments.
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