yes, there's nothing strange in that."

"I'll knock any man down that doubts my word," said the Colonel, "that's
flat."

Hoover laughed, Jones shivered.

Then the disputants went out to play another game of croquet, and Jones,
picking up with Smithers, played a game of billiards, Hoover going off
and leaving them alone.

After playing for about five minutes, Smithers, who had maintained an
uncanny silence, broke off the game.

"Let's play something better than this," said he. "Did you know I was
rich?"

"No," said Jones.

"Well, I'm very rich--Look here," he took five sovereigns from his
pocket and shewed them with pride. "I play pitch and toss with these,"
said he. "Hoover doesn't mind so long as I don't lose them. Pitch and
toss with sovereigns is fine fun, let's have a game?"

Jones agreed.

They sat on the divan and played pitch and toss. At the end of ten
minutes, Jones had won twenty pounds.

"I think I will stop now," said Smithers. "Give me back that sovereign I
lent you to toss with."

"But you owe me twenty pounds," said Jones.

"I'll pay you that to-morrow," said Smithers; "these sovereigns are not
to be spent, they are only for playing with."

"Oh, that doesn't matter," said Jones, handing back the coin, and
recognising that, penniless as he was, here was a small fund to be
drawn upon by cunning, should he find a means of escape. "I'm rich. I'm
worth ten millions."

"Ten million sovereigns?"

"Yes."

"Golden ones, like these?"

"Yes."

"I say," said Smithers, "could you lend me one or two?"

"Yes, rather."

"But you mustn't tell Hoover."

"Of course I won't."

"When will you lend me them?"

"When I get my bag of sovereigns from London. They are coming down
soon."

"I like you," said Smithers. "We'll be great friends, won't we?"

"Rather, come out in the garden."

They went out.

The garden encircled the house, big wrought iron gates, locked, gave
upon the road.

The tennis and croquet lawns lay at the back of the house, brick walls,
covered in part with fruit trees, surrounded the whole place. The wall
on the left of the house struck Jones as being practicable, and he
noticed that none of the walls were spiked or glassed. Hoover's patients
were evidently not of the dangerous and agile type.

"What's at the other side of this wall?" asked Jones, as they passed
along by the left hand barrier. Smithers giggled.

"Girls," said he.

"Girls! what sort of girls?"

"Li