'Je passe devant ta maison Ouvre ta porte, Bonjour, Suzon.'

Decidedly it was a case of love at first sight on both sides.




CHAPTER VII

MR VILLIERS PAYS A VISIT


Slivers and his friend Villiers were by no means pleased with the
existing state of things. In sending Vandeloup to the Pactolus
claim, they had thought to compromise Madame Midas by placing her in
the society of a young and handsome man, and counting on one of two
things happening--either that Madame would fall in love with the
attractive Frenchman, and seek for a divorce in order to marry him--
which divorce Villiers would of course resist, unless she bribed him
by giving him an interest in the Pactolus--or that Villiers could
assume an injured tone and accuse Vandeloup of being his wife's
lover, and threaten to divorce her unless she made him her partner
in the claim. But they had both reckoned wrongly, for neither of
these things happened, as Madame was not in love with Vandeloup, and
acted with too much circumspection to give any opportunity for
scandal. Consequently, Slivers and Co., not finding matters going to
their satisfaction, met one day at the office of the senior partner
for the purpose of discussing the affair, and seeing what could be
done towards bringing Madame Midas to their way of thinking.