long to upset that complacency somewhat.
Sir Thomas addressed himself to making Jimmy's position clear to
him.
'How, may I ask,' he said, 'do you propose to leave the castle?'
'Won't you let me have the automobile?' said Jimmy. 'But I guess I
sha'n't be leaving just yet.'
Sir Thomas laughed shortly.
'No,' he said--'no! I fancy not. I am with you there!'
'Great minds,' said Jimmy. 'I shouldn't be surprised if we thought
alike on all sorts of subjects. Just think how you came round to my
views on ringing bells. But what made you fancy that I intended to
leave the castle?'
'I should hardly have supposed that you would be anxious to stay.'
'On the contrary! It's the one place I have been in, in the last two
years, that I have felt really satisfied with. Usually, I want to
move on after a week. But I could stop here forever.'
'I am afraid, Mr. Pitt--By the way, an alias, of course?'
Jimmy shook his head.
'I fear not,' he said. 'If I had chosen an alias, it would have been
Tressilyan, or Trevelyan, or something. I call Pitt a poor thing in
names. I once knew a man called Ronald Cheylesmore. Lucky devil!'
Sir Thomas returned to the point on which he had been about to
touch.
'I am afraid, Mr. Pitt,' he said, 'that you hardly realize your
position.'
'No?' said Jimmy, interested.
'I find you in the act of stealing my wife's necklace--'
'Would there be any use in telling you that I was not stealing it,
but putting it back?'
Sir Thomas raised his eyebrows in silence.
'No?' said Jimmy. 'I was afraid not. You were saying--?'
'I find you in the act of stealing my wife's necklace,' proceeded
Sir Thomas, 'and, because for the moment you succeed in postponing
arrest by threatening me with a revolver--'
An agitated look came into Jimmy's face.
'Great Scott!' he cried. He felt hastily in his pocket.
'Yes,' he said; 'as I had begun to fear. I owe you an apology, Sir
Thomas,' he went on with manly dignity, producing the briar, 'I am
entirely to blame. How the mistake arose I cannot imagine, but I
find it isn't a revolver after all.'
Sir Thomas' cheeks took on a richer tint of purple. He glared dumbly
at the pipe.
'In the excitement of the moment, I guess--' began Jimmy.
Sir Thomas interrupted. The recollection of his needless panic
rankled within him.
'You--you--you--'
'Count ten!'
'You--what you propose to gain by this buffoonery, I am at a loss--'
'How can you say such savage things!' protested Jimmy. 'Not
