"No, no," he protested peevishly, "let me finish! Then came a grand smash, and Julia fled out here in order to escape her creditors. As I was responsible, I had to borrow, and raise money at a ruinous interest, and settle most of her debts—but I was in the money-lenders' clutches for life. She returned home, cleared—whilst I was bound hand and foot; you see, part of my pay was sequestrated, and I was chained to the country! And after twenty years in the East, without a break, I got out of English ways, and lost sight of my old friends."
"And what about your children, sir?"
"Oh, they were educated regardless of expense, and thanks to Julia's fine connections well started in the world; but I never saw them; no, not since they were with their ayah, and I put them aboard a mail steamer in Madras Roads, when the eldest was only four. Meanwhile, I was up to my neck in debt, and although commanding a regiment, worse off than a junior subaltern. I was positively ashamed of my uniform, my chargers, and my stinginess—but what could I do? Tell me that?"
"Er—well, nothing, I suppose," murmured the young man.
"No, I was too deep in the soucars' books, ever to get my head above water; socially I was dead, with a stone round my neck. Well, my boys got professions, the girl married well. Then my wife died; we had not met for years, but she wrote to me regularly every mail, and sent me newspapers.—I had thoughts of going home."
"And so you went at last?"
"No, though I had retired, and got my pension; an old comrade persuaded me to join him in the Hills, and something else held me back—it was India herself. Twice I took my passage, and twice I changed my mind—eventually I lived with my friend till he died. He left me all he had; plate, books, and a large fortune—the result of loot, and good investments—besides this, I have twelve hundred a year pension, and savings, and am at this moment a wealthy man. You'd never suspect it, would you?" and he waved his withered hand at the ugly pink walls, old black furniture, and threadbare Bangalore carpet.
"No, sir, I must say I would not."
"No, I'm like a native chap, who may live in a sort of open cupboard in the bazaar, and yet own lakhs of rupees. The tidings of my riches soon reached my family, and they bombarded me with letters and cables, and were desperately anxious to get the old man home! They were afraid he might fall under an undesirable influence, or do something foolish; but my pal forbid me ever to let them have a penny of his money; he used to say 'Your family only know you by your signature on a cheque, you've done your share, educated them, put them out in the world and they are strangers.'"
"And so you married again!"