'Yours, you said, was not a money trouble.'

'But yours is, Turk?'

'Yes; chiefly. Partly my own, partly another person's. Chris, if I speak vaguely, it is because I am on my parole; I mustn't break my word. Now we can trust one another, I think?'

'I am sure I can trust you, Turk.'

'And that is just what I want,' he said, with a perplexed look.

'What is?

'Trust. It is a tremendous misfortune, sometimes, to be a poor hard-up devil, not to be able to lay one's hand on a five-pound note. Generally, it doesn't matter; as a rule, I am happy enough with half a crown in my pocket, and owing no man anything. Chris, I want a large sum of money. Can you tell me where to borrow it on my word of honour?'

'How much, Turk?'

'Eighty pounds.'

I had more than that saved out of my earnings.