more against me to your employer, I will not
disclose to him what I know about you. But if you slander me, I will. So
now we understand one another.'

And I kept the will till I could give it myself into Mr Ashurst's own
hands in his rooms that evening.

VII

THE ADVENTURE OF THE UNOBTRUSIVE OASIS

I will not attempt to describe to you the minor episodes of our next
twelve months--the manuscripts we type-wrote and the Manitous we sold.
'Tis one of my aims in a world so rich in bores to avoid being tedious.
I will merely say, therefore, that we spent the greater part of the year
in Florence, where we were building up a connection, but rode back for
the summer months to Switzerland, as being a livelier place for the
trade in bicycles. The net result was not only that we covered our
expenses, but that, as chancellor of the exchequer, I found myself with
a surplus in hand at the end of the season.

When we returned to Florence for the winter, however, I confess I began
to chafe. 'This is slow work, Elsie!' I said. 'I started out to go round
the world; it has taken me eighteen months to travel no further than
Italy! At this rate, I shall reach New York a gray-haired old lady, in a
nice lace cap, and totter back into London a venerable crone on the
verge of ninety.'

However, those invaluable doctors came to my rescue unexpectedly. I do
love doctors; they are always sending you off at a moment's notice to
delightful places you never dreamt of. Elsie was better, but still far
from strong. I took it upon me to consult our medical attendant; and
his verdict was decisive. He did just what a doctor ought to do. 'She is
getting on very well in Florence,' he said; 'but if you want to restore
her health completely, I should advise you to take her for a winter to
Egypt. After six months of the dry, warm desert air, I don't doubt she
might return to her work in London.'

That last point I used as a lever with Elsie. She positively revels in
teaching mathematics. At first, to be sure, she objected that we had
only just money enough to pay our way to Cairo, and that when we got
there we might starve--her favourite programme. I have not this
extraordinary taste for starving; _my_ idea is, to go where you like,
and find something decent to eat when you get there. However, to humour
her, I began to cast about me for a source of income. There is no
absolute harm in seeing your way clear before you for a twelvemonth,
though o