flights of thought, the child's lust for
immediate revenge, and the child's pathetic bewilderment, who knocks his
head against the bad, wicked table. And on the other side, I knew, stood
the Company, as unable as Wilton to understand.

"And I could buy their old road three times over," he muttered, playing
with a paper-knife, and moving restlessly to and fro.

"You didn't tell 'em that, I hope!"

There was no answer; but as I went through the letters, I felt that
Wilton must have told them many surprising things. The Great Buchonian
had first asked for an explanation of the stoppage of their Induna, and
had found a certain levity in the explanation tendered. It then advised
"Mr. W. Sargent" to refer his solicitor to their solicitor, or whatever
the legal phrase is.

"And you didn't?" I said, looking up.

"No. They were treating me exactly as if I had been a kid playing on the
cable-tracks. There was not the least necessity for any solicitor. Five
minutes' quiet talk would have settled everything."

I returned to the correspondence. The Great Buchonian regretted that,
owing to pressure of business, none of their directors could accept
Mr. W. Sargent's invitation to run down and discuss the difficulty. The
Great Buchonian was careful to point out that no animus underlay their
action, nor was money their object. Their duty was to protect the
interests of their line, and these interests could not be protected if
a precedent were established whereby any of the Queen's subjects could
stop a train in mid-career. Again (this was another branch of
the correspondence, not more than five heads of departments being
concerned), the Company admitted that there was some reasonable doubt as
to the duties of express-trains in all crises, and the matter was
open to settlement by process of law till an authoritative ruling was
obtained--from the House of Lords, if necessary.

"That broke me all up," said Wilton, who was reading over my shoulder.
"I knew I'd struck the British Constitution at last. The House of
Lords--my Lord! And, anyway, I'm not one of the Queen's subjects."

"Why, I had a notion that you'd got yourself naturalised."

Wilton blushed hotly as he explained that very many things must happen
to the British Constitution ere he took out his papers.

"How does it all strike you?" he said. "Isn't the Great Buchonian
crazy?"

"I don't know. You've done something that no one ever thought of doing
before, and the Comp