ll that sort of
thing?"

"Oh yes, I took care of that. My name or yours was never mentioned,
except mine on the dummy list of directors. That won't hurt."

"Well, the Corporation's had a short life and a merry one; and your
precious secretary's likely to have a merry Christmas after it all--
unless you'd like to go down and spend it with him, Durfy," added Mr
Shanklin, taking notice for the first time of the presence of their
visitor.

Durfy replied by a scowl.

"I shall be far enough away by then," said he.

"Why, where are you going?"

"I'm going with you, to be sure," said he, doggedly.

Messrs. Medlock and Shanklin greeted this announcement with a laugh of
genuine amusement.

"I'm glad you told us," said Mr Shanklin. "We should have forgotten to
take a ticket for you."

"You may grin," said Durfy. "I'm going, for all that."

"You're a bigger fool even than you look," said Mr Medlock, "to think
so. You can consider yourself lucky to get a supper out of us this last
night."

"You forget I can make it precious awkward for you if I like," growled
Durfy.

"Awkward! _You've_ a right to be a judge of what's awkward after the
neat way you've managed things," sneered Shanklin. "It takes you all
your time to make things awkward for yourself, let alone troubling about
us."

Durfy always hated when Mr Shanklin alluded to his blunders, and he
scowled all the more viciously now because he felt that, after all, he
could do little against his two patrons which would not recoil with
twofold violence on his own head. No, he had better confine his
reprisals to the Crudens by Mr Shuckleford's assistance, and meanwhile
make what he could out of these ungrateful sharpers.

"If you don't want me with you," said he, "you'll have to make it worth
my while to stay away, that's all. You'd think it a fine joke if you
found yourself in the police-station instead of the railway-station to-
morrow morning, wouldn't you?"

And Mr Durfy's face actually relaxed into a smile at this flash of
pleasantry.

"You'd find it past a joke if you found yourself neck-and-crop in the
gutter in two minutes," said Mr Shanklin, in a rage, "as you will do if
you don't take care."

"I'll take care for fifty pounds," said Durfy. "It's precious little
share I've had out of the business, and if you want me mum, that's what
will do it. There, I could tell you a thing or two already; you don't
know--"

"Tush! Durfy, you're a born as