oland knew it was not true. Instinct told him
that Teal knew that he knew it was not true; but he did not press the
point.

"What do you mean--you think I am quite right?" he said. "You don't know
what I was thinking about."

Teal smiled indulgently.

"On the contrary, sir. A child could have guessed it. You have just
come to the decision--in my opinion a thoroughly sensible one--that your
engagement to her ladyship can not be allowed to go on. You are quite
right, sir. It won't do."

Personal magnetism covers a multitude of sins. Roland was perfectly well
aware that he ought not to be standing here chatting over his and Lady
Eva's intimate affairs with a butler; but such was Teal's magnetism that
he was quite unable to do the right thing and tell him to mind his own
business. "Teal, you forget yourself!" would have covered the situation.
Roland, however, was physically incapable of saying "Teal, you forget
yourself!" The bird knows all the time that he ought not to stand
talking to the snake, but he is incapable of ending the conversation.
Roland was conscious of a momentary wish that he was the sort of man who
could tell butlers that they forgot themselves. But then that sort
of man would never be in this sort of trouble. The "Teal, you forget
yourself" type of man would be a first-class shot, a plus golfer, and
would certainly consider himself extremely lucky to be engaged to Lady
Eva.

"The question is," went on Mr. Teal, "how are we to break it off?"

Roland felt that, as he had sinned against all the decencies in allowing
the butler to discuss his affairs with him, he might just as well go
the whole hog and allow the discussion to run its course. And it was an
undeniable relief to talk about the infernal thing to some one.

He nodded gloomily, and committed himself. Teal resumed his remarks with
the gusto of a fellow-conspirator.

"It's not an easy thing to do gracefully, sir, believe me, it isn't.
And it's got to be done gracefully, or not at all. You can't go to her
ladyship and say 'It's all off, and so am I,' and catch the next train
for London. The rupture must be of her ladyship's making. If some
fact, some disgraceful information concerning you were to come to her
ladyship's ears, that would be a simple way out of the difficulty."

He eyed Roland meditatively.

"If, for instance, you had ever been in jail, sir?"

"Well, I haven't."

"No offense intended, sir, I'm sure. I merely remembered tha