g in his future
which he said was pretty cloudy at the time of writing. I wished Toby
to share the money. _I_ hadn't done more than bring Talleyrand up to
Hundred and Eighteen. The kindnesses were Toby's. But Toby said, "No!
Liberty and Independence for ever. I have all my wants, my son." So I
gave him a set of new fiddle-strings and the Brethren didn't advise us
any more. Only Pastor Meder he preached about the deceitfulness of
riches, and Brother Adam Goose said if there was war the English 'ud
surely shoot down the Bank. _I_ knew there wasn't going to be any war,
but I drew the money out and on Red Jacket's advice I put it into
horse-flesh, which I sold to Bob Bicknell for the Baltimore
stage-coaches. That way, I doubled my money inside the twelvemonth.'

'You gipsy! You proper gipsy!' Puck shouted.

'Why not? 'Twas fair buying and selling. Well, one thing leading to
another, in a few years I had made the beginning of a worldly fortune
and was in the tobacco trade.'

'Ah!' said Puck, suddenly. 'Might I inquire if you'd ever sent any news
to your people in England--or in France?'

'O' course I had. I wrote regular every three months after I'd made
money in the horse trade. We Lees don't like coming home empty-handed.
If it's only a turnip or an egg, it's something. Oh yes, I wrote good
and plenty to Uncle Aurette, and--Dad don't read very quickly--Uncle
used to slip over Newhaven way and tell Dad what was going on in the
tobacco trade.'

'I see--

'Aurettes and Lees--
Like as two peas.

Go on, Brother Square-toes,' said Puck. Pharaoh laughed and went on.

'Talleyrand he'd gone up in the world same as me. He'd sailed to France
again, and was a great man in the Government there awhile, but they had
to turn him out on account of some story about bribes from American
shippers. All our poor _emigres_ said he was surely finished this time,
but Red Jacket and me we didn't think it likely, not unless he was quite
dead. Big Hand had made his peace treaty with Great Britain, just _as_
he said he would, and there was a roaring trade 'twixt England and the
United States for such as 'ud take the risk of being searched by British
and French men-of-wars. Those two was fighting, and just _as_ his
gentlemen told Big Hand 'ud happen--the United States was catching it
from both. If an English man-o'-war met an American ship he'd press half
the best men out of her, and swear they was British subjects. Mo