things. Why, I suppose Jimmy has eaten more things than you've ever
read about."

"I've read Brillat-Savarin," said Lingen modestly.

"I dare say Jimmy's had a notch out of _him_," said Miss Bacchus.
"He's what I call a blade."

Lingen didn't ask her what she called him.

CHAPTER IV

AFTER-TALK

Nevertheless the two men talked down to Knightsbridge together, and
Lingen did most of the talking. He chose to expand upon Macartney, the
nearest he dared get to the subject of his thoughts. "Now Macartney,
you know, is a very self-contained man. No doubt you've noticed how he
shies at expression. Chilling at times. Good in a lawyer, no doubt.
You get the idea of large reserves. But perhaps as a--well, as a
father, for instance-- That bright boy of theirs now. You may have
noticed how little there is between them. What do you think of the
Spartan parent--in these days?"

"Oh, I think Mr. Lancelot can hold his own," said Urquhart. "He'll
do--with his mother to help. I don't suppose the Spartan boy differed
very much from any other kind of boy. Mostly they haven't time to
notice anything; but they are sharp as razors when they do."

An eager note could be detected in Francis Lingen's voice, almost a
crow. "Ah, you've noticed then! The mother, I mean. Mrs. Macartney.
Now, there again, I think our friend overdoes the repression business.
A sympathetic attitude means so much to women."

"She'll get it, somewhere," said Urquhart shortly.

"Well," said Lingen, "yes, I suppose so. But there are the
qualifications of the martyr in Mrs. Macartney."

"Greensickness," Urquhart proposed; "is that what you mean?"

Lingen stared. "It had not occurred to me. But now you mention
it--well, a congestion of the faculties, eh?"

"I don't know anything about it," said Urquhart. "She seemed to me a
fond mother, and very properly. Do you mean that Macartney neglects
her?"

Lingen was timid by nature. "Perhaps I went further than I should. I
think that he takes a great deal for granted."

"I always thought he was a supercilious ass," said Urquhart, "but I
didn't know that he was a damned fool."

"I say,"--Lingen was alarmed. "I say, I hope I haven't made mischief."
Urquhart relieved him. "Bless you, not with me. I use a lawyer for
law. He's no fool there."

"No, indeed," Lingen said eagerly. "I've found him most useful. In
fact, I trust him further than any man I know."

"He's a good man," Urquhart said, "and he's perf