erhaps you might go and speak to him."

"No, I won't do that. I tell you what, Peddle," said Oliver brightly.
"You lure him out into the stable yard with a great hunk of pie--he
adores pie--and tell him to sit there and eat it till I come. Tell him
I said so."

"I'll see what can be done, sir," said Peddle.

"I don't mean to be inhospitable," said Doggie, after the butler had
gone, "but why do you take this extraordinary person about with you?"

"I wanted him to see Durdlebury and Durdlebury to see him. Do it
good," replied Oliver. "Now, what about my proposition? Out there of
course you'll be my guest. Put yourself in charge of Chipmunk and me
for eight months, and you'll never regret it. What Chipmunk doesn't
know about ships and drink and hard living isn't knowledge. We'll let
you down easy--treat you kindly--word of honour."

Doggie being a man of intelligence realized that Oliver's offer arose
from a genuine desire to do him some kind of service. But if a
friendly bull out of the fullness of its affection invited you to
accompany him to the meadow and eat grass, what could you do but
courteously decline the invitation? This is what Doggie did. After a
further attempt at persuasion, Oliver grew impatient, and picking up
his hat stuck it on the side of his head. He was a simple-natured,
impulsive man. Peggy's spirited attack had caused him to realize that
he had treated Doggie with unprovoked rudeness; but then, Doggie was
such a little worm. Suddenly the great scheme for Doggie's
regeneration had entered his head, and generously he had rushed to
begin to put it into execution. The pair were his blood relations
after all. He saw his way to doing them a good turn. Peggy, with all
her go--exemplified by the manner in which she had gone for him--was
worth the trouble he proposed to take with Doggie. It really was a
handsome offer. Most fellows would have jumped at the prospect of
being shown round the Islands with an old hand who knew the whole
thing backwards, from company promoting to beach-combing. He had not
expected such a point-blank, bland refusal. It made him angry.

"I'm really most obliged to you, Oliver," said Doggie finally. "But
our ideals are so entirely different. You're primitive, you know. You
seem to find your happiness in defying the elements, whereas I find
mine in adopting the resources of civilization to circumvent them."

He smiled, pleased with his little epigram.

"Which means," said Ol