provide you with
an axe."

"You'll want your axes for yourself, I fancy," he returned, with one
of his quick looks. "Unless you have private knowledge, there will be a
good deal of rather violent wrecking to do before you find that--opium,
do you call it?"

"Well, it's either opium, or we are stark, staring mad," I replied. "But
I assure you we have no private information. We went in (as I suppose
you did yourself) on observation."

"An observer, sir?" inquired the judge.

"I may say it is my trade--or, rather, was," said I.

"Well now, and what did you think of Bellairs?" he asked.

"Very little indeed," said I.

"I may tell you," continued the judge, "that to me, the employment of a
fellow like that appears inexplicable. I knew him; he knows me, too; he
has often heard from me in court; and I assure you the man is utterly
blown upon; it is not safe to trust him with a dollar; and here we find
him dealing up to fifty thousand. I can't think who can have so trusted
him, but I am very sure it was a stranger in San Francisco."

"Some one for the owners, I suppose," said I.

"Surely not!" exclaimed the judge. "Owners in London can have nothing
to say to opium smuggled between Hong Kong and San Francisco. I should
rather fancy they would be the last to hear of it--until the ship was
seized. No; I was thinking of the captain. But where would he get the
money? above all, after having laid out so much to buy the stuff in
China? Unless, indeed, he were acting for some one in 'Frisco; and in
that case--here we go round again in the vicious circle--Bellairs would
not have been employed."

"I think I can assure you it was not the captain," said I; "for he and
Bellairs are not acquainted."

"Wasn't that the captain with the red face and coloured handkerchief?
He seemed to me to follow Bellairs's game with the most thrilling
interest," objected Mr. Morgan.

"Perfectly true," said I; "Trent is deeply interested; he very likely
knew Bellairs, and he certainly knew what he was there for; but I can
put my hand in the fire that Bellairs didn't know Trent."

"Another singularity," observed the judge. "Well, we have had a capital
forenoon. But you take an old lawyer's advice, and get to Midway Island
as fast as you can. There's a pot of money on the table, and Bellairs
and Co. are not the men to stick at trifles."

With this parting counsel Judge Morgan shook hands and made off along
Montgomery Street, while I entered th