As he reflected, however, the hopeful side of the situation presented
itself to his mind. He had been confident that his tracks were so well
hidden that his share in introducing Snaffle into the Club would not be
suspected, unless the guest had himself mentioned it. He made the
Princeton Platinum stock a pretext for calling upon the speculator, and
endeavored to discover whether the latter had spoken, but he learned
nothing. He was not quite ready to ask frankly whether Snaffle had
betrayed him, and short of doing so he could not discover. Still Fenton
told himself that the only thing he had to fear was some hearsay that
might have reached the ears of the Executive Committee, and he trusted
to his cleverness to answer this.
He presented himself at the meeting of the committee with a bold front
and an air of restrained indignation, which became him very well. All
his histrionic instincts were aroused by such an occasion as this. He
delighted to act a part, and the fact that real issues were the stake
of his success, added a zest which he could not have found on the
boards. He spoke to the gentlemen present or replied to their greeting
with a manner of dignity which was effective because it was not in the
least overdone, and then sat down very quietly to await what might be
said.
He had not long to wait. The Secretary of the St.
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