Mr. Waddington's face fell. He was disappointed. He was also puzzled.

"Understood the situation," he repeated. "What the dickens do you mean,
Burton? What situation?"

"I mean about the typhoid, sir, and Lady Idlemay's refusal to have the
drains put in order."

Mr. Waddington's expression for a few moments was an interesting and
instructive study. His jaw had fallen, but he was still too bewildered
to realize the situation properly.

"But who told him?" he gasped.

"I did," Burton replied gently. "I could not possibly let him remain in
ignorance of the facts."

"You couldn't--what?"

"I could not let him the house without explaining all the circumstances,
sir," Burton declared, watching his senior anxiously. "I am sure you
would not have wished me to do anything of the sort, would you?"

What Mr. Waddington said was unimportant. There was very little that
he forgot and he was an auctioneer with a low-class clientele and a fine
flow of language. When he had finished, the office-boy was dumb with
admiration. Burton was looking a little pained and he had the shocked
expression of a musician who has been listening to a series of discords.
Otherwise he was unmoved.