u do that, do you think?"

"I might, of course," said Sabina; "but--"

"Then do."

"Sure if I do he'll not be for stopping in the hotel."

"Exactly," said Meldon. "He's not wanted to stop."

"Mr. Doyle will lacerate me after, if the gentleman leaves, and the
language he'll use will be what I wouldn't like to be listening to."

"Mr. Doyle," said Meldon, "may take that view at first. He's a
short-sighted man, and is inclined to consider only the immediate
present; but, in giving you the directions I am giving about the
judge's food, I am acting in Mr. Doyle's best interests. I'm looking
into the future, and doing what will be best for Mr. Doyle in the long
run. After awhile he'll come to understand that, and then he'll be
extremely pleased with you, and most probably he'll raise your wages."

"He'll not do that," said Sabina confidently.

"In any case," said Meldon, "whatever view he ultimately takes of your
action, you will have the feeling that you are securing the greatest
good of the greatest number, and that's a reward in itself--a much
better reward than a few shillings extra wages."

"It might be," said Sabina; but she spoke without conviction.

"As to the exact method that you ought to pursue," said Meldon, "I
don't lay down any hard and fast rules; but I should suggest that
paraffin oil is a thing that has a most penetrating kind of taste, and
I don't know that I ever met any one who liked it. I remember once a
servant we had at home cleaned the inside of the coffee-pot with
paraffin oil. I tasted the stuff for weeks afterwards, and I couldn't
make out for a long time where the flavour came from."

"Would there be any fear," said Sabina, "but I might poison him?"

"Not a bit," said Meldon. "You'll do him good if he eats the things.
You may not know it, but vaseline is made from paraffin oil, and it's
well known that vaseline is an extraordinarily wholesome sort of stuff,
good for almost anything in the way of a cut or a burn. Then there's a
kind of emulsion made from petroleum--that's the same as
paraffin--which cures consumption. For all we know this judge may be
suffering from consumption, and a little paraffin may be the best thing
in the world for him."

"I wouldn't like if he was to die on us."

"Nor would I; but he won't. You needn't be the least bit afraid of
that. For one thing, the moment he smells the paraffin he'll stop
eating the food. However, all this is only my idea. Be