if you favoured it or not, he would be more
than indiscrate, wouldn't he? Your own good sinse, me dear sir, will
tell you that he would be culpably foolish--culpably so, bedad!"

"Well, sir?" said the old man, in a hoarse voice.

"Well," continued the major, "I have no doubt that your son told you of
the interesting little conversation that we had together. He was good
enough to promise that if I went to Russia and pretinded to discover a
fictitious mine, I should be liberally rewarded by the firm. I was
under the necessity of pointing out to him that certain principles on
which me family"--here the major inflated his chest--"on which me
family are accustomed to act would prevint me from taking advantage of
his offer. He then, I am sorry to say, lost his temper, and some words
passed between us, the result of which was that we parted so rapidly
that, be jabers! I had hardly time to make him realize how great an
indiscretion he had committed."

The merchant still sat perfectly still, tapping the table with his black
ebony ruler.

"Of course, afther hearing a skitch of the plan," continued the major,
"me curiosity was so aroused that I could not help following the details
with intherest. I saw the gintleman who departed for Russia--
Langworthy, I believe, was his name. Ged! I knew a chap of that name
in the Marines who used to drink raw brandy and cayenne pepper before
breakfast every morning. Did ye? Of course you couldn't. What was I
talking of at all at all?"

Girdlestone stared gloomily at his visitor. The latter took a pinch of
snuff from a tortoise-shell box, and flicked away a few wandering grains
which settled upon the front of his coat.

"Yes," he went on, I saw Langworthy off to Russia. Then I saw your son
start for Africa. He's an interprising lad, and sure to do well there.
_coelum non animam mutant_, as we used to say at Clongowes.
He'll always come to the front, wherever he is, as long as he avoids
little slips like this one we're spaking of. About the same time I
heard that Girdlestone & Co, had raised riddy money to the extint of
five and thirty thousand pounds. That's gone to Africa, too, I presume.
It's a lot o' money to invist in such a game, and it might be safe if
you were the only people that knew about it, but whin there are
others--"

"Others?"

"Why, me, of course," said the major. "I know about it, and more be
token I am not in the swim with you. Sure, I could go this