rthly reason that I can see why we should not come to terms. Go on out
and get the lemons and the gin and soda, and let's talk this thing over man
to man like a couple of good fellows at the club. I mean you no harm, and
you certainly don't wish to do any kind of injury to a chap who, even
though appearances are against him, really means to do you a good turn."

"Appearances certainly are against you, sir," said I, a trifle warmly, for
the man's composure was irritating. "A disappearance would be more likely
to do you credit at this moment."

"Tush, Jenkins!" he answered. "Why waste breath saying self-evident things?
Here you are on the verge of a big transaction, and you delay proceedings
by making statements of fact, mixed in with a cheap wit which, I must
confess, I find surprising, and so obvious as to be visible even to the
blind. You don't talk like an author whose stuff is worth ten cents a
word--more like a penny-a-liner, in fact, with whom words are of such small
value that no one's the loser if he throws away a whole dictionary. Go out
and mix a couple of your best Remsen coolers, and by the time you get back
I'll have got to the gist of this royalty statement of yours, which is all
I've come for. Your silver and books and love letters and manuscripts are
safe from me. I wouldn't have 'em as a gift."

"What concern have you with my royalties?" I demanded.

"A vital one," said he. "Mix the coolers, and when you get back I'll tell
you. Go on. There's a good chap. It'll be daylight before long, and I want
to close up this job if I can before sunrise."

What there was in the man's manner to persuade me to compliance with his
wishes, I am sure I cannot say definitely. There was a cold, steely glitter
in his eye, for one thing. With it, however, was a strengthfulness of
purpose, a certain pleasant masterfulness, that made me feel that I could
trust him, and it was to this aspect of his nature that I yielded. There
was something frankly appealing in his long, thin, ascetic looking face,
and I found it irresistible.

"All right," said I with a smile and a frown to express the conflicting
quality of my emotions. "So be it. I'll get the coolers, but you must
remember, my friend, that there are coolers and coolers, just as there are
jugs and jugs. The kind of jug that remains for you will depend upon the
story you have to tell when I get back, so you'd better see that it's a
good one."

"I am not afraid, Jenkins, o