ry.

"He may easily last long enough to half ruin my business. Large concerns
are delicate concerns."

"Come, Kilshaw, Puttock's a capitalist; he'll see Capital isn't
wronged."

"Puttock is all very well in his way; but what do you say to Jewell and
Norburn?"

"Jewell's an old-style Radical: he won't do you much harm. You hit the
nail on the head when you mention Norburn. Norburn would be very pleased
to run your factory as a State work-shop for two pound a week."

"And pickings," added Mr. Kilshaw, with scornful emphasis.

A third gentleman, who was sitting near in the large bow-window of the
Central Club, an elderly man, with short-clipped white hair and a
pleasant face, joined in the talk.

"Norburn? Why, is that the fellow I tried? Is he in Medland's
government?"

"That's the man, Sir John," answered Kilshaw; and Sir Robert added,

"You gave him three months for inciting to riot in the strike at the
Collieries two years ago. He's made Minister of Public Works; I hear the
Governor held out for a long while, but Medland insisted."

"And my works are to be Public Works, I suppose," grumbled Kilshaw,
finding some comfort in this epigrammatic statement of the unwelcome
prospect before him.

"Red-hot, isn't he?" asked Sir John Oakapple, who, as Chief Justice of
the colony, had sent the new Minister to gaol.

Kilshaw nodded.

"Will he and Puttock pull together?" continued the Chief Justice.

"The hopeful part of the situation is," said Sir Robert, "that Puttock
is almost bound to fall out with somebody, either with Norburn, for the
reason you name, or with Coxon, because Coxon will try to rule the
roast, or with Medland himself."

"Why should he quarrel with Medland?"

"Why does the heir quarrel with the king? Besides, there's the
Prohibition Question. I doubt if Medland will satisfy Puttock and his
people over that."

"Oh, I expect he will," said the Chief Justice. "I asked him once--this
is in confidence, you know--if he didn't think it a monstrous proposal,
and he only shrugged those slouched shoulders of his, and said, 'We've
got Sunday Closing, and we go in the back way: if we have Prohibition
the drink'll go in the back way--same principle, my dear Chief
Justice'": and that High Officer finished his anecdote with a laugh.

"The odd thing about Medland is," remarked Sir Robert, "that he's
utterly indifferent about everything except what he's utterly mad about.
He has no moderate sympathies or a