Sentence:  He waited and waited, in the faith that Schinkel was dealing with them in his slow, categorical Teutonic way, and only objurgated the cabinetmaker for having in the first place <WSD>paltered</WSD> with his sacred trust. Why hadn't he come straight to him—whatever the mysterious document was—instead of talking it over with French featherheads? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To trifle.