During the few days he spent circling tentatively and apprehensively around his wife he learned enough to know that there was nothing to be had from her at present.

No doubt the money she raised to placate Plank--if she had placated him in that fashion--was a strain on her resources, whatever those resources were.
One thing was certain: Plank had not remained very long in ignorance of the cheque drawn against his balance, if indeed, as Mortimer feared, the bank itself had not communicated with Plank as soon as the cheque was presented for payment.

Therefore Plank must have been placated by Leila; how, Mortimer was satisfied not to know.
"Some of these days," he said to himself, "I'll catch her tripping, and then there'll be a decent division of property, or--there'll be a divorce." But, as usual, Mortimer found such practices more attractive in theory than in execution, and he was really quite contented to go on as things were going, if somebody would see that he had some money occasionally.
One of these occasions when he needed it was approaching.

He had made a "killing" at Desmond's, and had used the money to stop up the more threatening gaps in the tottering financial fabric known as his "personal accounts." The fabric would hold for a while, but meantime he needed money to go on with.

And Leila evidently had none.