'On dit that two highly respected sons of the brine, recently settled in our midst, and one of whom has recently been elected to teach our young ideas how to shoot, were so fired with emulation by the ploughing in Class C as to challenge one another then and there to a trial of prowess, much to the entertainment of our agricultural friends. The stakes were for a considerable amount, and the two heroes who had elected to plough something more solid than the waves, quickly found themselves the observed of all observers. Rumour, that lying jade, hints at a lady in the case. Certain it is that the pair, whose names have of late been syn-been sy-nonymous-with,' "O Lor'! here's a heap of it, master!" "Skip the long syllables an' get on." "H'm-m cation. You may trust Philp chair. "What is it to-day? to get at the facts-leastways Business? or just a pipe and you can trust him for gossip: a chat?" but he can't dress anything up. . . . Why, Why, what's the matter with the child?" Fancy Tabb never laughed: and this was the queerer because she had a sense of humour beyond her years. Though by no means a gleeful child she could express glee naturally enough: but a joke merely affected her with silent convulsive twitchings, as though the the risible faculty struggled somewhere within her but could not bring the laugh to birth. These spasms of mirth, whatever had provoked them, were cut short and her explanations too-by a heavy footstep on the stairs. "Cap'n Hunken!" she announced, and went to open the door. "Most like he wants to talk business with you same as Cap'n Hocken did this morning, and I'd better make myself scarce. That's the silly way they've taken to behave, 'stead of callin' together." "Ay, you're sharp, missy," said her master. "But 'twon't be the same arrand this time, as it happens: so you're wrong for once. Fancy, if she heard, did not answer, for 'Bias by this time had reached the landing without. She opened to him. "Good afternoon, sir." "Afternoon, missy. I saw your father in the shop, and he told me to walk up. Mr Rogers disengaged?" "Ay, Cap'n-walk in, walk in!" said Mr Rogers from his "Well, it's business," allowed 'Bias with a glance at the girl. "But I'll light a pipe over it, if ye don't mind." "And I'll fit and make tea for you both," said Fancy. "It's near about time." She vanished and closed the door behind her. 'Bias found a chair, seated himself, and filled his pipe very slowly and thoughtfully. Mr Rogers waited. "The business that brings me-" 'Bias paused, struck a match and lit up "ain't quite the ord'nary business." "No?" "No." For a few seconds 'Bias appeared to be musing. "In fact you might call it a— a sort o' flutter. That's the word - ain't it?-when you take a bit o' money and play venturesome with it, against your usual habits." "Ay." Mr Rogers looked at him sharply. "When I say venturesome," continued 'Bias, "you'll understand I don't mean foolhardy. . . . Nothin' o' the sort. I want to hear o' something tolerably safe, into which a man might put a small sum he happened to have lyin' about." "Thank 'ee. I'm not askin' no names." "As to that, I'd rather not mention the name, either. But But I'd be very glad o' your advice: way o' speakin'!" drop a trembling half-paralysed hand towards the newspaper which lay on the floor beside his chair. "Would ye mind___” 'Bias stepped forward and picked it up for him. "Thank-ee. No: I want you to keep it. . . . I'm goin' to do a thing that's friendlier yet: though it be a risk. Open the paper at the middle sheet right-hand side, an' look out a column headed 'Troy News.' Got it?" "Half a moment-Yes, 'Troy News'-here we are!" "Now cast your eye down the column till you come 'pon a par about last Monday's Agricultural Demonstration." "The devil!" swore 'Bias. "You don't mean to say "'Course I do. Everything gets into the papers nowadays. . . . You'll find it spicy." 'Bias found the paragraph and started to to read, with knitted brows. Its journalistic style held him puzzled for fully half a minute. lated "Ha! Then he ejacu and snorted. "Thought I'd warn you to be careful," said Mr Rogers. "You don't take it amiss, I hope? In a little place like this there's eyes about all the time-an' tongues." for 'tis important to me, in a After another ten seconds he snorted again and exploded Mr Rogers nodded. "If some bad words-some very that's so," said he, "you bad words indeed. must give me a little time to think. There's mortgages, o' course: and there's deals to be done in shipping: and there's money-lendin'-though you'd object to that, maybe. . . . Anyway, you come to to-morrow, and I may have something to propose.' "Thank 'ee. I take that as his hands. friendly." me "I'd like to find the joker who wrote it?" breathed 'Bias, the paper trembling between "I can't tell you who wrote Right." Mr Rogers let it," said the ship-chandler; "but I can give a pretty close guess who's responsible for it: and that's Philp." "Philp?" "Mind ye, I say 'tis but a guess." "I'll Philp him!" "Well, he's no fav'rite o' mine," said Mr Rogers grinning. "He's too suspicious for me, and I hate a man to be suspicious. . . . But he's the man I suspect." "Where does he live?" "Union Place-two flights o' steps below John Peter Nanjulian's-left-hand side as you go up. But you can't have it out with him on suspicion only." "Can't I?" said 'Bias grimly. "I'll ask him plain 'yes' or 'no.' If he says 'yes,' I'll know what to do, and you may lay I'll do it." "But if he says 'no'?" "Then I'll call him a liar," promised 'Bias without a moment's indecision. "That'll touch him up, I should hope. .. Where did you say he lives?" At this moment there came a knock at the door and Fancy entered with the tea-tray. "If you'd really like a talk with him," said Mr Rogers, blinking, "maybe you'd best let the child here take you to his house. . . . Eh, missy? Cap'n Hunken tells me as how he'd like to pay a call 'pon Mr Philp, up in Union Place." "Now?" asked Fanny. "The sooner the better," answered 'Bias, crushing The Troy Herald' between his hands. Fancy's hands, disencum bered of the tea-tray, began to twitch violently. "Very well, master," was all she said, however; and with that she left the room to fetch her hat and small cloak. "I'd advise you to tackle Philp gently," was Mr Rogers's warning as soon as the pair were alone. "Not that I've any likin' for the man: but the point is, you've no evidence. He'll tell you-and, likely enough, with truth-as he never act'ally wrote what's printed." "You leave him to me," said 'Bias grimly, gulping his tea and preparing to sally forth. "An' you might remember to leave the child outside. If a lady's name is to be handled in the discussion, you understand. . . . Besides which, witnesses are apt to be awk'ard. Two's the safe number when there's a delicate point to be cleared up." ... He Fancy reappeared and announced herself ready. 'Bias caught up his hat. . . . Left to himself, Mr Rogers lay back in his chair and chuckled. did not care two straws for Mr Philp, or for what might happen to him. His mind was off on quite another train of thought. "I wonder what the woman's game is? A hundred pound lyin' idle'-and Hocken around with the same tale this forenoon. .. Ten per cent, and at a moderate risk. . . . She's shrewd, too, by all accounts. Damme, if this isn't a queer cross-runnin' world! A woman like that, if I'd had the luck to meet her a three four years ago before this to lift his hand against a happened!" He eyed his woman?" palsied hand as it reached out, shaking, for the tea-cup. "When we get to the door," said 'Bias heavily, as he and Fancy turned out of the street into the narrow entry of Union Place, "you're to step back and run away home." "Well, mind you don't, that's all!" She left him standing on the doorstep, and skipped away up the steps. Having reached a point which commanded a view over the blinds of Mr Philp's front window, she gave glance into the room, and at once her arms and legs started to twitch as though in the opening movement of some "No fear," she assured him. "I'm doin' you a favour, an' don't you forget it." "But you can't come inside barbaric war-dance. with me.' "That's all right. Nobody said as I wanted to, in my hearin'. I can see all I want to see. There's a flight o' steps runnin' up close outside the window." She pointed it out and quite candidly indicated the point at which she proposed to perch herself. "And there's another window at the back," she added: "so's you can see all that's happenin' inside." "Better fit you ran away home," he repeated. "You can't make me," retorted Fancy. "Unless, o' course, you choose to use force, here in broad daylight. As a friend of mine said, only the other day," she went on, snatching at a purple patch from 'Pickerly,' "the man as would lift his hand against a woman deserves whatever can be said of him. Public opinion will condemn him in this life, and, in the next, worms are his portion. So there!" "I dunno what you're talkin' about," said 'Bias, preoccupied with the thought of coming vengeance. "Who's meanin' a 'Bias, still inattentive, took no heed of these contortions. After a moment's pause he rapped sharply on the door with the knob of his walking stick, then boldly lifted the latch and strode into the passage. On his right the door of the front parlour stood ajar. He thrust it wide open and entered. And, as he entered, a female figure arose from a chair on the far side of the room. "I-I beg your pardon, ma'am !" stammered 'Bias, falling back a pace. "Polly wants a kiss!" screamed a voice. It did not seem to proceed from the lady. . . Somehow, too, it was strangely familiar. . . . 'Bias stared wildly about him. At the same moment, and just as his eyes fell on the parrot-cage on the table, the lady-But was it a lady? Heavens! what did it resemble this figure in female attire? "Drat your bird! He won't say no worse! And this is the third mornin' I've sat temptin' him!" Mr Philp-yes, it was Mr |