look for a lunatic."

"Ha, ha!" laughed Welsh, "I think he'll be rather relieved himself.
Waiter! another bottle of the same."

The bottle arrived, and the waiter was just filling their glasses when a
young clergyman entered the room and walked quietly towards the farther
end. Welsh raised his glass and exclaimed, "Here's luck to ourselves,
Twiddel, old man!"

At that moment the clergyman was passing their table, and at the mention
of this toast he started almost imperceptibly, and then, throwing a quick
glance at the two, stopped and took a seat at the next table, with his
back turned towards them. Welsh, who was at the farther side, looked at
him with some annoyance, and made a sign to Twiddel to talk a little more
quietly.

To the waiter, who came with the _menu_, the clergyman explained in a
quiet voice that he was waiting for a friend, and asked for an evening
paper instead, in which he soon appeared to be deeply engrossed.

At first the conversation went on in a lower tone, but in a few minutes
they insensibly forgot their neighbour, and the voices rose again by
starts.

"My dear fellow," Welsh was saying, "we can discuss that afterwards; we
haven't caught him yet."

"I want to settle it now."

"But I thought it was settled."

"No, it wasn't," said Twiddel, with a foreign and vinous doggedness.

"What do you suggest then?"

"Divide it equally--L250 each."

"You think you can claim half the credit for the idea and half the
trouble?"

"I can claim _all_ the risk--practically."

"Pooh!" said Welsh. "You think I risked nothing? Come, come, let's talk of
something else."

"Oh, rot!" interrupted Twiddel, who by this time was decidedly flushed.
"You needn't ride the high horse like that, you are not Mr
Mandell-Essington any longer."

With a violent start, the clergyman brought his fist crash on the table,
and exclaimed aloud, "By Heaven, that's it!"

CHAPTER V.

As one may suppose, everybody in the room started in great astonishment at
this extraordinary outburst. With a sharp "Hollo!" Twiddel turned in his
seat, to see the clergyman standing over him with a look of the keenest
inquiry in his well-favoured face.

"May I ask, Dr Twiddel, what you know of the gentleman you just named?" he
said, with perfect politeness.

The conscience-smitten doctor gazed at him blankly, and the colour
suddenly left his face. But Welsh's nerves were stronger; and, as he
lo