You know what I mean. A
tuppence here and there won't matter. But, of course, always treat him
with the profound consideration which is due to so distinguished a
gardener."

They understood me at once and grinned. But even then I was struck
with their peculiar reasons for understanding at once. Jem Bottles
understood at once because he had been a highwayman; Paddy understood
at once because he was an Irishman. One had been all his life a rogue;
the other had been born on an intelligent island. And so they
comprehended me with equal facility.

They departed on their errand, and when I turned I found myself in the
clutches of a maddened Doctor Chord.

"Monster," he screamed, "you have ordered him to be killed!"

"Whist," said I, "it would never do to order him to be killed. He is
too valuable."

CHAPTER XXV

"You appear more at your ease when you are calm," said I to the Doctor
as I squashed him into a chair. "Your ideas of murder are juvenile.
Gardeners are murdered only by other gardeners, over some question of
a magnolia-tree. Gentlemen of position never murder gardeners."

"You are right, sir," he responded frankly. "I see my mistake. But
really, I was convinced that something dreadful was about to happen. I
am not familiar with the ways of your nationality, sir, and when you
gave the resolute directions to your men it was according to my
education to believe that something sinister was at hand, although no
one could regret more than I that I have made this foolish mistake."

"No," said I, "you are not familiar with the ways of my nationality,
and it will require an indefinite number of centuries to make your
country-men understand the ways of my nationality; and when they do
they will only pretend that after great research they have discovered
something very evil indeed. However, in this detail, I am able to
instruct you fully. The gardener will not be murdered. His fluency
with a blunderbuss was very annoying, but in my opinion it was not so
fluent as to merit death."

"I confess," said Doctor Chord, "that all peoples save my own are
great rascals and natural seducers. I cannot change this national
conviction, for I have studied politics as they are known in the
King's Parliament, and it has been thus proved to me."

"However, the gardener is not to be murdered," said I, "and although I
am willing to cure you in that particular ignorance I am not willing
to take up your general cure as a life w