Collis leaned forward, so close that Henry recoiled a little, as if he were afraid that Collis might kiss him. But Collis pulled him back again and whispered in his hairy ear: ‘My father’s bank may be going bust. To the tune of two million dollars.’

‘God Almighty,’ said Henry.

‘God Almighty hasn’t helped very much so far. The trouble is, Father hasn’t only lost his investors’ money, he’s lost a whole lot of his own, some of which he borrowed from the bank.’

‘That was cavalier of him,’ remarked Henry.

‘Don’t ask me what it was. A brainstorm or something. He’s never done anything like it in his life, not until now.’

Henry nodded. ‘I know. Your father has an enduring reputation as one of the stodgiest bankers who ever breathed. Lewis swears that he’s fashioned out of solid sourdough.’

‘Never mind that,’ said Collis. ‘What I’ve done has made the whole situation a hundred thousand times worse. When I went out with Delphine, our chaperone was Alice Stride, and it occurred to me that if she introduced me to her father, the well-known and wealthy Senator Stride, I might persuade him to underwrite I. P. Woolmer’s for the lost two million. Or some of it, at least.’

He paused, and then he said frustratedly, ‘What never entered my damned stupid mind was that Senator Stride could have been party to the very damned speculation by which my father was busted. I should have known he was tied up in some railroad deal or another. Almost every damned politician is these days, from Jeff Davis downward.’

‘Awkward,’ commented Henry.

‘Awkward? I don’t know how Senator Stride managed to listen to me cajoling him for money and still keep a straight face. As if he was going to underwrite my father for two million dollars that he’d already gone to considerable pains to gyp out of him.’

Henry stared at Collis from only two or three inches away. They blinked at each other for a while. Then Henry said, ‘In my opinion, humble as it may be, you’ve landed yourself in the creek.’

Collis sat back. ‘It’s even worse than that. God, this place is hot — why don’t they put in some fans? The Senator’s going to tell Delphine’s father that my family is flat broke, without any chance of getting ourselves out of it, and that’s going to put a stop to my courting Delphine. And God knows what’s going to happen when he starts spreading the word around Wall Street that Woolmer’s is on the verge of bankruptcy, which he surely will. Father will kill me with his bare hands. That’s if Mother doesn’t kill us both first.’

Henry slowly and thoughtfully stroked his cheek.

‘Do you like this Delphine?’ he asked Collis.