accepted at once." Phineas, when he heard
this, could not help thinking how glorious it would be if Mr. Bonteen
were to resign, and if the place so vacated, or some vacancy so
occasioned, were to be filled by him!

They reached the club together, and as they went up the stairs, they
heard the hum of many voices in the room. "All the world and his wife
are here to-night," said Phineas. They overtook a couple of men at
the door, so that there was something of the bustle of a crowd as
they entered. There was a difficulty in finding places in which to
put their coats and hats,--for the accommodation of The Universe is
not great. There was a knot of men talking not far from them, and
among the voices Phineas could clearly hear that of Mr. Bonteen.
Ratler's he had heard before, and also Fitzgibbon's, though he had
not distinguished any words from them. But those spoken by Mr.
Bonteen he did distinguish very plainly. "Mr. Phineas Finn, or some
such fellow as that, would be after her at once," said Mr. Bonteen.
Then Phineas walked immediately among the knot of men and showed
himself. As soon as he heard his name mentioned, he doubted for a
moment what he would do. Mr. Bonteen when speaking had not known of
his presence, and it might be his duty not to seem to have listened.
But the speech had been made aloud, in the open room,--so that those
who chose might listen;--and Phineas could not but have heard it. In
that moment he resolved that he was bound to take notice of what he
had heard. "What is it, Mr. Bonteen, that Phineas Finn will do?" he
asked.

Mr. Bonteen had been--dining. He was not a man by any means
habitually intemperate, and now any one saying that he was tipsy
would have maligned him. But he was flushed with much wine, and
he was a man whose arrogance in that condition was apt to become
extreme. _"In vino veritas!"_ The sober devil can hide his cloven
hoof; but when the devil drinks he loses his cunning and grows
honest. Mr. Bonteen looked Phineas full in the face a second or two
before he answered, and then said,--quite aloud--"You have crept upon
us unawares, sir."

"What do you mean by that, sir?" said Phineas. "I have come in as any
other man comes."

"Listeners at any rate never hear any good of themselves."

Then there were present among those assembled clear indications of
disapproval of Bonteen's conduct. In these days,--when no palpable
and immediate punishment is at hand for personal insolence fro