er
at your request, Captain MacTurk, yet I must see more of the matter, ere
I can fairly pronounce myself second to a man I never saw but once."

"And, perhaps, may never see again," said the Doctor, looking at his
watch; "for it is ten minutes past the hour, and here is no Mr. Tyrrel."

"Hey! what's that you say, Doctor?" said the Baronet, awakened from his
apathy.

"He speaks tamned nonsense," said the Captain, pulling out a huge,
old-fashioned, turnip-shaped implement, with a blackened silver
dial-plate. "It is not above three minutes after one by the true time,
and I will uphold Mr. Tyrrel to be a man of his word--never saw a man
take a thing more coolly."

"Not more coolly than he takes his walk this way," said the Doctor; "for
the hour is as I tell you--remember, I am professional--have pulses to
count by the second and half-second--my timepiece must go as true as the
sun."

"And I have mounted guard a thousand times by my watch," said the
Captain; "and I defy the devil to say that Hector MacTurk did not always
discharge his duty to the twentieth part of the fraction of a second--it
was my great grandmother, Lady Killbracklin's, and I will maintain its
reputation against any timepiece that ever went upon wheels."

"Well, then, look at your own watch, Captain," said Winterblossom, "for
time stands still with no man, and while we speak the hour advances. On
my word, I think this Mr. Tyrrel intends to humbug us."

"Hey! what's that you say?" said Sir Bingo, once more starting from his
sullen reverie.

"I shall not look at my watch upon no such matter," said the Captain;
"nor will I any way be disposed to doubt your friend's honour, Mr.
Winterblossom."

"_My_ friend?" said Mr. Winterblossom; "I must tell you once more,
Captain, that this Mr. Tyrrel is no friend of mine--none in the world.
He is your friend, Captain MacTurk; and I own, if he keeps us waiting
much longer on this occasion, I will be apt to consider his friendship
as of very little value."

"And how dare you, then, say that the man is my friend?" said the
Captain, knitting his brows in a most formidable manner.

"Pooh! pooh! Captain," answered Winterblossom, coolly, if not
contemptuously--"keep all that for silly boys; I have lived in the world
too long either to provoke quarrels, or to care about them. So, reserve
your fire; it is all thrown away on such an old cock as I am. But I
really wish we knew whether this fellow means to come--twent