and Italian, with many corrections
and blots, which had caused the literary-minded censor in Saloniki much
trouble, thinking they concealed a cipher; and she had implored him to
come back to Valletta and get work in the dockyard. Then they could have
a house in Senglea and the children could go to a better school. This
was doubtless the underlying thought in Mr. Cassar's mind when he
decided to go along with Mr. Spokesly. And Mr. Spokesly, before going
over to the office of the Public Debt, to find Mr. Jokanian, had
mentioned that he would be going back rather late to Bairakli.

He sat now, the wine stimulating his mind to unwonted activity,
listening to the clever conversation of the blond young man. Mr.
Spokesly was quite prepared to admire him. It was, he reflected, very
wonderful how these chaps learned languages. He wished he could speak
these lingos. Here they were, German, Austrian, Armenian, Jew, all
speaking English. After all, there lay the triumph. As Mr. Marsh said,
you couldn't beat that type. "We" went everywhere and all men adopted
"our" language and "our" ideas. He heard the Herr Leutnant's tones as he
told Mr. Marsh that he himself admired the English. He had lived among
them for years. At one time was engaged to marry an _Englaenderinn_. And
his conclusion was that they had nothing to fear from any other nation.
Their true enemies were within. The hitherto impregnable solidarity of
the race was disintegrating. Mr. Spokesly was not clear what this
signified. He knew it sounded like the stuff these clever foreigners
were always thinking up. When all was said and done, they were all out
to do the best they could for themselves. There was Marsh, living as
calm as you please in Ottoman territory and making a very decent income
in various ways. And there was a young fellow over there, with rich
auburn hair flung back from a fine reddish forehead, who had been
pointed out to him as the son of a rich old boy who had been there all
his life as a Turkey merchant, with great estates and a grand house at
Boudja where they were to hold a magnificent garden party to welcome the
old General on his arrival from a tour of inspection in Syria. Mr.
Spokesly had heard, too, of the way money was made just now, and he
smiled at the simplicity of it. There was the material in the cargo of
the _Kalkis_, hardware and flour and gasolene. A pretty rake-off some of
these intellectual Europeans had made out of that in what they cal