nants prosperous or not--a mere miserable pittance, of
course, for the Earl of Montdidier and Kirkudbrightshire; so that all
his ventures, and therefore ours, had one avowed end--shekels enough to
lift the mortgages from his estates.

Five generations of soldiers had blazed the Montdidier fame on
battle-grounds, to a nation's (and why not the whole earth's) benefit,
without replenishing the family funds, and Monty (himself a confirmed
and convinced bachelor) was minded when his own time should come to
pass the title along to the next in line together with sufficient funds
to support its dignity.

To us--even to Yerkes, familiar with United States merchant kings--he
seemed with his thirty thousand dollars a year already a gilded
Croesus. He had ample to travel on, and finance prospecting trips. We
never lacked for working capital, but the quest (and, including Yerkes,
we were as keen as he) led us into strange places.

So behold him--a privy councilor of England if you please--lounging in
the lazaretto of Zanzibar, clothed only in slippers, underwear and a
long blue dressing-gown. We three others were dressed the same, and
because it smacked of official restraint we objected noisily; but
Monty did not seem to mind much. He was rather bored, but unresentful.

A French steamer had put us ashore in quarantine, with the grim word
cholera against us, and although our tale of suffering and Monty's
rank, insured us a friendly reception, the port health authorities
elected to be strict and we were given a nice long lazy time in which
to cool our heels and order new clothes. (Guns, kit, tents, and all
but what we stood in had gone to the bottom with the German cholera
ship from whose life-boat the French had rescued us.)

"Keeping us all this time in this place, is sheer tyranny!" grumbled
Yerkes. "If any one wants my opinion, they're afraid we'd talk if they
let us out--more afraid of offending Germans than they are of cholera!
Besides--any fool could know by now we're not sick!"

"There might be something in that," admitted Monty.

"I'd send for the U. S. Consul and sing the song out loud, but for
you!" Yerkes added.

Monty nodded sympathetically.

"Dashed good of you, Will, and all that sort of thing."

"You English are so everlastingly afraid of seeming to start trouble,
you'll swallow anything rather than talk!"

"As a government, perhaps yes," admitted Monty. "As a people, I fancy
not. As a people we vary