icle in which he had had his spiritual upbringing, and had become
a pillar of the Established Church. The cousin had been christened Jacob
and Noakes; but he had embroidered himself into James Knock Jervoyce;
the Knocks being a family of some distinction in his neighbourhood, and
the name Jervoyce having, to his fancy, a Norman-French sort of aspect
which seemed to lift its bearer to a superior social height. James
had many irons in the fire, and seemed to be prosperously busy at the
commercial anvil all day long. Amongst the business enterprises he had
in hand, there was but one which at any time had appeared to yield him
no return for his labours. He had lent money on the strength of the
security afforded by a brine pit in the neighbourhood of Droitwich;
and his creditor having failed in the stipulated payments, James had
foreclosed upon this property and had undertaken to work it for himself.
He found this enterprise a failure, but since he could induce nobody to
take it off his hands, he worked the property for what it was worth from
time to time. There were seasons in which the pit was almost dry, and
when it was impossible to work it at a profit. There were other seasons
when the underground sources treated him more favourably. A more decided
man than Mr. Knock Jervoyce would probably have decided to abandon the
property altogether, and to let one loss stand for everything. There was
a considerable cost incurred in the upkeep of machinery which was much
oftener idle than engaged; and the occasional employment of the plant
was, of course, on the average much more expensive than its constant
use would have been. James was on the point, after two or three years
of indecision, of relinquishing the working altogether, when Cousin John
came home. There was a conference between the two, and following on that
conference a very strange thing happened. The worthless mine became a
property, and one of the best of its kind in England. Five men knew how
this result was brought about, and three of them had been for a good
many years in the enjoyment of a pension--one in Australia, one in
Canada, and one in the United States. These pensions were paid by
Cousins John and James, and paid by no means willingly. Not to boggle
at this matter, the two cousins, at John's instigation, had contrived
a simple villainy. Very near to the unproductive salt pit was a noble
property of the same kind, and John's device had been to tap the wealthy