10
THE SURAKARTA
tions, Mr.—Annis." Hereford was studiously affronting.
"That?"
"The duty of a gentleman."
If the man was, as he professed to be, an ally he failed to notice the insult; if he was an opponent he was worth heeding, for he did not flush. "I will hear what you have to say," Hereford decided promptly. "I am, as you seem to be informed, the executor of the late Matthew Regan's estate. My responsibility, however, is confined to financial affairs. His daughter was already of age when her father died. I am merely administrator of her estate. Miss Regan put herself into no position in Java regarding which she found it necessary to consult me as administrator."
"Then you have not heard of her engage-
