"My tact told me so. I say, Kilshaw, what do you make of that?"
"Nothing in it," answered Kilshaw confidently.
Captain Heseltine had but one test of sincerity, and it was a test to which he knew Kilshaw was, as a rule, quite ready to submit. He took out a small note-book from one pocket and a pencil from the other.
"What'll you lay that it doesn't come off?" he asked.
"I won't bet."
"Oh," said the Captain, scornfully implying that he ceased to attach value to Mr. Kilshaw's judgment.
"I won't bet, because I know."
"The deuce you do!" exclaimed Heseltine, promptly re-pocketing his apparatus.
"And, if you want another reason why I won't bet," continued Kilshaw, who did not like the
Captain's air of incredulity, "I'll tell you. I'm going to stop it myself."