In fact, Mr. Daunt asserted that the host was partly
responsible for the awkward position in which Mr. Daunt found himself.
The Senator, whenever he was able to make himself heard, put in protesting
"buts." Mr. Daunt, riding his grievance wildly, hurdled every "but" and
kept right on. "Confound it, Corson, I accepted him as your friend, as
your guest, as a gentleman under the roof of a mutual friend. Most of all,
I accepted him as a safe and sane business man. I talked to him as I would
to the gentlemen who put their feet under my table. I know how to be
cautious in the case of men I meet in places of business. But you bring
this man to your house and you put me next to him with the assurance that
he is all right--and I go ahead with him on that basis. I was perfectly
and entirely honest with him. I disregarded all the rules that govern me
in ordinary business offices," the banker added, too excited to appreciate
the grim humor flashed by the flint and the steel of his last, juxtaposed
sentences.
"You say you told him all your plans in full?" suggested Corson, referring
to the outburst with which Daunt began his arraignment of the situation.
"Of course I told him! You gave me no warning.
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