adding her hand to
the heart she has already bestowed upon me.

"As regards that undeveloped negative, which Mr. Cospatric (with
the skill acquired when he was bottle-washer to a photographer) so
kindly put into the portable dark slide, my wife will take lessons
in the art in some quiet town on the mainland, and when
sufficiently skilled in technique will develop out its secret, and
share with me the great reward.

"I do not know that I am indebted to M. Taltavull for any matter,
but I should be sorry to leave unrequited the interest he appears
to take in my welfare. If he will send his address to 'Poste
Restante,' Cannes, Monte Carlo, or Hyeres, I shall be proud to send
him a delicate wedge of our wedding cake. I trust, however, he
knows my name; for here I shall only sign myself, senores, your
infinite superior,

"L'AVEUGLE."

"That's delicious," said Haigh when he had finished reading.

"But the insults, senor," said the anarchist, turning round again.

"Beautiful!"

"Have you read those burning gibes?"

"The humour of the thing's transcendental."

"Senor Haigh, look at that letter calmly."

"I am doing. Isn't the satire something lovely? My mellow voice! Ho,
ho, ho! And Cospatric's experiences as a photographer's bottle-washer!
Grand!"

The anarchist began to stamp about in a new access of fury, and so
Haigh changed his tone.

"Laugh when you're licked, my dear fellow," said he. "Believe me, it's
the best way, and Lord knows I ought to be an authority."

"We're differently constituted, senor."

"Faith, I grant that same's true."

"This loss means more to me than it does to you."

"You are making it do so, certainly. But there, for God's sake, don't
let's be asses enough to quarrel. Here, smoke."

We all three lit cigarettes, and there was a silence for some minutes.
Then Haigh broke out again,--

"Phe--ew!" he whistled. "Have they gone posting to Soller after all?"

"Eh?" said Taltavull.

"I mean, isn't this all a blind? Wasn't that letter written just to put
us on the wrong track? Why should the man have taken the trouble to
make all that long screed just for the sake of jeering, when he
wouldn't be here to see what effect his smart sarcasms would have?
Besides, if he showed his route, he might think we could work the
telegraph wires and get him and his blessed feluccre stopped in Soller
Port till we came up. Now, here or Palma