have grown up together, all three have grown old together; and
now, too, Palko is as familiar with his honour as he used to be in the
days when they played and fought together in the courtyard. The old
fellow's head is grey now, but not a hair of it has he lost, and its
flowing abundance is brushed backwards and kept in its place by a
circular comb; his moustache is more pointed than a shoemaker's awl, and
waxed to a fearful extent at both ends; his features are so simple that
a skilful artist could have hit them off in three strokes, only the
colouring would have given him something to think about, for it is a
little difficult to paint-in blood-red on scarlet.

"Would his honour," said Peter, standing by the table, "be graciously
pleased to cast his eyes over these accounts? I have made so bold as to
most humbly make out a brief summary thereof, that his honour may find
the examination a little easier." And with that he beckoned to Palko to
put down the documents.

The latter venomously banged down the whole bundle on the table, but he
could not refrain from observing, "What a shame to spoil such a lot of
nice clean paper by scribbling on it!"

"You speak like a fool," growled Master Jock.

"It would be all the same, so far as your honour is concerned, if they
put blank paper before your honour; for they don't pay the slightest
attention to what your honour says. It is not enough to know that they
_do_ rob you; I should also like to know how much they rob you of."

"Come, come, my heart's best son, what do you mean by talking to your
master like that? Look now! you shall look through all the accounts
along with me, from beginning to end, so just stand behind my chair, and
hold your tongue."

"I am ready to eat up all that your honour looks through," murmured the
old servant to himself.

Thereupon Master Jock, with commendable determination, extended his hand
towards the top-most bundle lying before him, which contained the
accounts of his agent Janos Karlats, and began fumbling about with it
till he arrived at the conviction that he could make neither head nor
tail of it, whereupon he handed it back to Mr. Peter, who immediately
found the schedule he was looking for.

"This is a schedule of the income and expenditure of your Kakadi
estate."

And now, reader, let us listen. You may find it a trifle tedious,
perhaps, but you could not have a better opportunity of seeing how the
estates of the Nabob were admini