l, irregular, and no one knew this better than Roden; consequently he
was quite prepared for all sorts of changes in this direction, and
accepted them cheerfully. But his new superior thought he saw a very
promising ground of annoyance, which might, if deftly worked, bring
about the revolt he desired.

"There is a matter I have been intending to speak to you about, Mr
Musgrave," he began one day when Roden had taken some correspondence in
to be signed, "and that is your very frequent absences; I don't mean
from the office during hours, but from the town. For instance, I find
that you are frequently absent from Doppersdorp the whole night,
visiting your friends in the country, and not infrequently for two
nights."

"But that would be only from Saturday evening to Monday morning early,
sir; while off duty."

"A Civil Servant is never off duty, Mr Musgrave, except when he is on
leave of absence," was the frigid rejoinder. "Now, I am not aware that
the absences to which I refer come under that heading."

With a strong effort Roden mastered his contemptuous indignation, for he
saw that his superior had discovered a new form of mean and petty
annoyance. He had far too much _savoir vivre_ to make any such retort
as would have arisen to the lips of nine men but of ten in like
position--viz., that Mr Van Stolz had never raised any such objection.
So he said:

"Do I understand, sir, that you object to my sleeping the night at a
friend's house if outside Doppersdorp, even though I am back punctually
for office hours?"

The other felt vicious. The question was unpleasant in its directness,
and, while put with perfect respect, its pointedness seemed cutting.

"Er--you see, Mr Musgrave, we are supposed to be resident here--that
is, to reside here; the object of which is that we may be found when
wanted, and that object is defeated if we are whole nights, or a day and
a night, away from the place. It is not a personal matter, not a
question of what _I_ object to; but supposing any emergency were to
arise requiring your presence, and nobody knew where to find you; or at
any rate, that you were so far away that it amounted to the same thing!"

"Would you mind, sir, stating for my guidance the precise distance the
Service regulations allow an official to ride or walk without having
obtained formal leave of absence?"

The other felt very cornered at this persistent attempt to knock his
objections to match-wood, and propor