rse, certain yet that he
does--but if he does, I'll do my best to see that he gets it; but I
won't act in the dark. I have a sense of justice and a conscience, and
I absolutely decline to persecute and harry a man simply because you
don't like him. Who is this Simpkins? Is he any kind of government
inspector?"

"He's an agent that they've sent down here to manage the Buckley
estates."

"Well, I don't see anything wrong about that. I suppose there must be
an agent. I could understand Doyle objecting to him on the ground of
his profession. Doyle is the President of the League, and, of course,
he's _ex officio_ obliged to dislike land agents passionately; but I
didn't expect you to take that line, Major. You're a loyalist. At
least you used to be when I was here, and it's just as plainly your
duty to support agents as it is Doyle's to abuse them."

"I don't object to him because he's an agent," said Major Kent. "I
object to him because he's a meddlesome ass, and keeps the whole place
in continual hot water."

"Very well. That's a distinct and definite charge. If you can prove
it, I'll take the matter up and deal with the man. Pass the tobacco."

Meldon filled and lit his pipe. Then he got up and walked across to
Major Kent's writing-table. He chose out a pen, took a quantity of
notepaper and a bottle of ink. With them he returned to his armchair
and sat down. He put the ink-bottle on the arm of the chair and,
crossing his legs, propped the paper on his knee.

"Do be careful, J. J.," said the Major. "You'll certainly upset that
ink-bottle, and this is a new carpet."

"We are engaged now," said Meldon, "on a serious investigation. You
have demanded that a certain man should be punished in a perfectly
frightful manner. I've agreed to carry out your wishes, _if_--mark my
words--if he deserves it. You ought not to be thinking of carpets or
ink-bottles. Your mind ought to be concentrated on a single effort to
tell the truth. It's not such an easy thing to tell the truth as you
think. Lots of men try to and fail. In fact, I'm not sure that any
man could tell the truth unless he's had some training in metaphysics
and theology. When I was in college I took honours in logic--"

"You've often mentioned that to me before," said the Major. "It's one
of the things about you that I have most firmly fixed in my mind."

"And I won a prize for proving the accuracy of the Thirty-nine
Articles. Consequent