r a mile, and I asked the driver to change half-a-crown; I hadn't
a shilling. He got out a handful of silver, and when he had picked out
the two shillings and sixpence he looked at me for the first time, and
started and stared as if I was a ghost in good earnest."

"Oh, Gerry, he must have seen you before--before it happened!"
Remember that this was, in the spirit of it, a fib, seeing that the
tone of voice was that of welcome to a possible revelation. To our
thinking, the more honour to her who spoke it, considering the
motives. Gerry continued:

"So I thought at first. But listen to what followed. As soon as his
surprise, whatever caused it, had toned down to mere recognition
point, he spoke with equanimity. 'I've driven you afore now, mister,'
said he. 'You won't call me to mind. Parties don't, not when fares;
when drivers, quite otherwise. I'm by way of taking notice myself.
You'll excuse _me_?' Then he said, 'War-r-r-p,' to the horse, who was
trying to eat himself and dig the road up. When they were friends
again, I asked, Where had he seen me? Might I happen to call to mind
Livermore's Rents, and that turn-up?--that was his reply. I said I
mightn't; or didn't, at any rate. I had never been near Livermore's
Rents, nor any one else's rents, that I could recall the name of. 'Try
again, guv'nor,' said he. 'You'll recall if you try hard enough. _He_
recollects it, _I'll_ go bail. My Goard! you _did_ let him have it!'
Was it a fight? I asked. Well, do you know, darling, that cabby
addressed me seriously; took me to task for want of candour.
'That ain't worthy of a guv'nor like you,' he said. 'Why make any
concealments? Why not treat me open?' I gave him my most solemn honour
that I was utterly at a loss to guess what he was talking about, on
which he put me through a sort of retrospective catechism, broken by
reminders to the horse. '_You_ don't rec'lect goin' easy over the
bridge for to see the shipping? Nor yet the little narrer court
right-hand side of the road, with an iron post under an arch and
parties hollerin' murder at the far end? Nor yet the way you held him
in hand and played him? Nor yet what you sampled him out at the
finish? My Goard!' He slapped the top of the cab in a sort of ecstasy.
'Never saw a neater thing in my life. _No_ unnecessary violence, _no_
agitation! And him carried off the ground as good as dead! Ah! I made
inquiry after, and that was _so_.' I then said it must have been some
one else v