nth in town, and this gave Jane time to discover
that it was not possible to teach Zero to do trust-and-paid-for, and to
look up a really admirable train by which Richard might travel from
Selsdon Bois to the city every weekday morning.

"Yes," said Richard, a little doubtfully, "it's quite a good train,
but--"

"But what?"

"Oh, nothing. I shall probably take it whenever I go up, though it's a
bit earlier than is absolutely necessary. You see, I don't regard my
presence at the office as so essential as I once did. My partners are
most able and trustworthy men, and they like the work. Of course, I
shall keep an eye on things."

"Then how many days a week will you go up?"

"Well, just at first I shall go up--er--from time to time."

"Come here, Zero," said Jane. "See that man? He's idle. Kill him!"

"Idle? Why, I shall have any amount of things to do down at Midway!
Gardeners and grooms want a deal of looking after at first, until they
pick up the way you want things done. Then there's that car your father
gave us. I've got to learn how to drive it; I've got to know all about
its blessed works right up to the very last word. The man who don't is
open to be robbed and fooled by his chauffeur. That won't be done in a
week. Then I've had an idea that we might lay out a golf-course--quite a
small affair, just for practice."

"Richard, you're a genius! (You needn't bite him after all, Zero.) That
will be the very thing for guests on Sunday afternoons--not to mention
us ourselves."

"I was thinking principally of us ourselves."

"Where is that big-scale plan of the land? We'll pin it down flat on the
table, and start arranging it now. We shall probably have to alter it
all afterwards, but that don't matter."

CHAPTER V

Six years had passed; and Zero had got a new master, a somewhat
dictatorial gentleman, but with genuine goodness of heart, aged five,
bearing the same name as his father, Richard Staines, but never by any
chance addressed by it. His father called him Dick. His mother called
him by various fond and foolish appellations. He was known to the
servants of the household as the Emperor. He had two sisters, whom he
always spoke of collectively as "the children." He always spoke of Zero
as "my dog."

Zero was rather an old dog now, but hale and hearty. In his own circle
he was highly valued, but his formidable appearance still struck terror
among strangers, willing though he was to make friends