 less he liked him. Of late
the filter manufacturer had begun to strike notes in his conversation which
jarred on Sidney's sensibilities, and made him disagreeably suspicious that
something more was meant than Joseph cared to put into plain speech. Since his
establishment in business Joseph had become remarkably attentive to his father;
he appeared to enter with much zeal into all that concerned Jane; he conversed
privately with the old man for a couple of hours at a time, and these dialogues,
for some reason or other, he made a point of reporting to Sidney. According to
these reports - and Sidney did not wholly discredit them - Michael was coming to
have a far better opinion of his son than formerly, was even disposed to speak
with him gravely of his dearest interests.
    »We talked no end about you, Sidney, last night,« said Joseph on one
occasion, with the smile whereby he meant to express the last degree of friendly
intelligence.
    And Sidney, though anxiously desiring to know the gist of the conversation,
in this instance was not gratified. He could not bring himself to put questions,
and went away in a mood of vague annoyance which Joseph had the especial power
of exciting.
    With the Byasses, Joseph was forming an intimacy; of this too Sidney became
aware, and it irritated him. The exact source of this irritation he did not at
first recognise, but it was disclosed at length unmistakably enough, and that on
the occasion of the visit recently described. Bessie's pleasantry, which roused
him in so unwonted a manner, could bear, of course, but one meaning; as soon as
he heard it, Sidney saw as in a flash that one remaining aspect of his position
which had not as yet attracted his concern. The Byasses had learnt, or had been
put in the way of surmising, that Michael Snowdon was wealthy; instantly they
passed to the reflection that in marrying Jane their old acquaintance would be
doing an excellent stroke of business. They were coarse-minded, and Bessie could
even venture to jest with him on this detestable view of his projects. But was
it not very likely that they derived their information from Joseph Snowdon? And
if so, was it not all but certain that Joseph had suggested to them this way of
regarding Sidney himself?
    So when Jane's face appeared at the door he held himself in stubborn
disregard of her. A thing impossible to him, he would have said a few minutes
ago. He revenged himself upon Jane. Good; in this way he was likely to make
noble advances.
    The next evening he
