ht difference from the rest in the brand, have been opened, and have
been found to contain a red wine instead of champagne. The similarity in
the brands, we suppose, caused a mistake to be made in sending the
consignment from Neuchatel. The error has not been found to extend
beyond six cases."

"Is that all!" exclaimed Vendale, tossing the note away from him.

Joey Ladle's eye followed the flying morsel of paper drearily.

"I'm glad to see you take it easy, sir," he said. "Whatever happens, it
will be always a comfort to you to remember that you took it easy at
first. Sometimes one mistake leads to another. A man drops a bit of
orange-peel on the pavement by mistake, and another man treads on it by
mistake, and there's a job at the hospital, and a party crippled for
life. I'm glad you take it easy, sir. In Pebbleson Nephew's time we
shouldn't have taken it easy till we had seen the end of it. Without
desiring to crow over the house, young Mr. Vendale, I wish you well
through it. No offence, sir," said the Cellarman, opening the door to go
out, and looking in again ominously before he shut it. "I'm muddled and
molloncolly, I grant you. But I'm an old servant of Pebbleson Nephew,
and I wish you well through them six cases of red wine."

Left by himself, Vendale laughed, and took up his pen. "I may as well
send a line to Defresnier and Company," he thought, "before I forget it."
He wrote at once in these terms:

"Dear Sirs. We are taking stock, and a trifling mistake has been
discovered in the last consignment of champagne sent by your house to
ours. Six of the cases contain red wine--which we hereby return to
you. The matter can easily be set right, either by your sending us
six cases of the champagne, if they can be produced, or, if not, by
your crediting us with the value of six cases on the amount last paid
(five hundred pounds) by our firm to yours. Your faithful servants,

"WILDING AND CO."

This letter despatched to the post, the subject dropped at once out of
Vendale's mind. He had other and far more interesting matters to think
of. Later in the day he paid the visit to Obenreizer which had been
agreed on between them. Certain evenings in the week were set apart
which he was privileged to spend with Marguerite--always, however, in the
presence of a third person. On this stipulation Obenreizer politely but
positively insisted. The one concession he made was to give