ossible into Meldon's plans, whatever they
might be.

"What are you thinking of doing with yourself to-day?" he asked at
breakfast. "If you want to go into Ballymoy to rag that judge again I
can let you have the cob."

"Thanks," said Meldon, "but I think the judge may be left alone for
the present. The wisest line for me to take in this case is to allow
the paraffin oil to soak in. I hardly think it will be necessary for
me to see him again. He'll probably leave by the mid-day train. The
fact is, I'm thinking of taking a half-holiday."

"Do," said the Major. "After what you went through yesterday you must
want--"

"No, I don't. And I'm not the kind of man who pretends that he takes
holidays because he finds them necessary for his health. I take them
simply because I enjoy them."

"We might," said the Major, "have a day in the _Spindrift_."

"I said a half-holiday," said Meldon. "In the afternoon I must go in
and explain to Simpkins that you don't really mean anything by your
rather pronounced attentions to Miss King."

The Major sighed. He had no doubt that Meldon would do exactly as he
said, and he foresaw fresh complications of a most embarrassing kind.
Still, a half-holiday was something to be thankful for.

"We might," he said, "have a sail in the morning and come back for
lunch."

"No," said Meldon, "we can't do that. There's not a breath of wind.
But, without actual sailing, we might spend a pleasant and restful
morning on board the yacht."

"Do you mean simply to sit on deck while she's at anchor?"

"I rather contemplated lying down," said Meldon, "with my head on a
life-buoy."

"I don't think I'd care for that. It strikes me as rather waste of
time."

"It would be for you, Major, and I don't advise you to do it. My time
won't be wasted, for I shall use it profitably. I shall take a
quantity of tobacco and a tin of biscuits. You can let me have some
biscuits, I suppose?"

"Certainly. And you'll find a bottle of beer on board, which Simpkins
couldn't drink at luncheon the other day, but I must say that, if
that's your idea of a profitable use of your time--"

"It isn't. The tobacco and the biscuits are mere accessories. What I
really mean to devote my morning to is meditation. One of the greatest
mistakes we make nowadays is not giving sufficient time to quiet
thought. We go hustling along through life doing things which ought
not to be done in a hurry, and when physical e