orld by the British
aristocracy. His own hot youth was crowded with episodes that Medenham
might regard with disdain, yet he would be shocked out of his well-fed
cynicism by the notion that his son was gallivanting round the country
as the chauffeur of an unconventional American girl and a middle-aged
harpy like Mrs. Devar.

So Medenham's message was non-committal.

Aunt Susan was unable to come Epsom to-day. Have taken car
to Brighton, and Bournemouth. Home Saturday, perhaps
earlier. GEORGE.

Of course, he meant to fill in details verbally. It was possible in
conversation to impart a jesting turn to an adventure which would be
unconvincing and ambiguous in the bald phrases of a telegram.

Then he dined, filled a cigarette case from the box of Salonikas which
Tomkinson had not omitted to pack with his clothes, and strolled out,
bare-headed, to enrich Dale. He could trust his man absolutely, and
was quite sure that the Mercury would then be in the drying stage
after a thorough cleaning. Thus far he was justified, but he had not
counted on the pride of the born mechanic. Though the car was housed
for the night, when he entered the garage the hood was off, and Dale
was annoying two brothers of the craft by explaining the superiority
of _his_ engine to every other type of engine.

All three were bent over the cylinders, and Dale was saying:

"Just take a squint at them valves, will you?--ever seen anything like
'em before? Of course you haven't. Don't look like valves, eh? Can
you break 'em, can you warp 'em, can you pit 'em? D'ye twig how the
mixture reaches the cylinder? None of your shoulders or kinks to choke
it up--is there?--and the same with the exhaust. Would you ever have a
mushroom valve again after you've once cast your peepers over this
arrangement? Now, if I took up areonotting--if _I_ wanted to fly the
Channel----"

He stopped abruptly, having seen his master standing in the open
doorway.

"By gad, Dale," cried Medenham, "I have never heard your tongue
wagging in that fashion before."

Dale was flustered.

"Beg pardon, my lord, but I was only----" he began.

"Only using the cut-out, I fancy. Come here, I want you a minute."

The other chauffeurs suddenly discovered that they had urgent business
elsewhere. They vanished. Dale thought it necessary to explain.

"One of them chaps has a new French car, my lord, and he was blowing
so loudly about it that I had to take him down a peg