to Sam.

"It is for you, Mr Shipton."

"For me? Impossible! I am supposed to be dead at home," exclaimed Sam,
tearing it open. "Oh, it's from Frank Hedley, and--well, he _has_ been
successful after all! Listen, Robin. Excuse me, Mrs Redpath. May I
read it aloud?"

"By all means," answered the pretty little woman, who would probably
have answered the same if he had asked leave to go to bed in his boots.

"`Your affair settled'"--continued Sam, reading.

"`Great Eastern starts almost immediately. Come without delay.'"

"How provoking!" exclaimed the pretty little woman. "I had counted on
having you a fortnight at least."

"And I had counted on showing you some capital sport in our jungles,
where we have all sorts of large game. But of course you cannot do
otherwise than obey the summons at once."

"Of course not," said Sam and Robin together.

Flinn left the room and entered the servants' quarters with something
like a groan.

"Sure it's bad luck has followed me iver since I left owld Ireland."

"What's wrong with you?" asked Slagg, looking up from the slice of
peacock breast with which he was regaling himself.

"The matter? Och, it's bad luck's the matter. Hasn't our frindship
only just begood, an' isn't it goin' to be cut short all of a suddint,
niver more to be renewed?"

In pathetic tones, and with many Hibernian comments, the poor man
communicated the news brought by the telegram. But regrets were of no
avail; the orders were peremptory; the chance of returning to England in
such circumstances too good to be lightly thrown away; so that same
forenoon saw the whole party, with the skin of the royal tiger, on their
way back to the city of Bombay.

It is easier to imagine than to describe the state of mind into which
they were thrown when, on returning to their hotel, they discovered the
perfidy of Stumps. Fortunately, they had enough of money left to
discharge the hotel bill, and redeem their property.

"You're quite sure of the name of the vessel he sailed in?" asked Sam of
the waiter who had so cleverly obtained, and so cautiously retained, his
information as to the proceedings of Stumps.

"Quite sure, sir," replied the waiter. "The ship's name was Fairy
Queen, bound for the port of London, and the thief--the gen'lem'n, I
mean--shipped in the name of James Gibson."

Having received the "consideration" which he had anticipated, and had
afterwards given up as lost, the waiter retired