"I'll find the man for you and get Vellum and Crackles, the solicitors,
to instruct him at once on the case. His name is Mr. Gentle Gammon,
K.C., a famous barrister. He was at school with me, and afterwards at
Oxford. Why, Dad, you must remember him, he returned home once with me
and spent the Christmas holidays with us at Lancaster Gate. Mum
thought an awful lot of him."

"I remember!" exclaimed Sir Simon excitedly; "meek manner, gentle
voice, but the young devil always got his own way, I noticed, before
any one even knew what he was after."

"He gets his own way rather more now than he did then, if possible, and
by the same means. He always wins his cases too."

"Engage him," commanded Sir Simon, "engage him at once, my boy; and are
you going to undertake to coach little Ridgwell?"

"Little Ridgwell won't want any coaching," chuckled the Writer. "I
only want little Ridgwell to appear in Court and talk to them about the
Pleasant-Faced Lion as he talks to me, and I think it will be a
refreshing and unusual experience for them all; and I firmly believe
for the first time in his life Mr. Learned Bore will not be able to
find anything to say."

"It's very odd," remarked Sir Simon as he rose to take his departure,
"really very odd that you should have mentioned that chap just
now--what's his name--Ulysses; as far as I remember he was a very
cunning person, uncannily cunning, and I'm afraid really quite
underhand, so to speak, and sometimes deceitful in his methods; and do
you know, my boy, you rather remind me of him, now I come to think of
the matter."

The Writer grinned affably.

"And whilst we are upon this subject," pursued Sir Simon, "I should
really like to know what explanation you gave to the policeman that
night, that he considered so convincing and satisfactory."

"Even Ulysses didn't reveal all his wisdom, Dad. Good-bye."

CHAPTER IX

THE WRITER PLANS WICKED PLANS

Now it so happened that the Writer chanced to be quite as fond of jokes
as the Pleasant-Faced Lion, and the Writer contended, taking all the
circumstances into consideration, that an action for libel with the
Pleasant-Faced Lion involved in it would be an excellent great big
joke, to say nothing of a graceful retaliation upon the Pleasant-Faced
Lion himself for a few of the jokes which that Pleasant Animal had
played upon the Writer. Not to mention the fact that such a case
promised to supply the Writer with a little ligh