"I wish you would only meddle with affairs that concern you, Mr. Mole," said Jack, stiffly. "I don't want you to furnish information to any body about my movements."
"Very good," replied Mr. Mole, "I won't, then. I thought I might send a second letter, to say that I was quite sure you did not care a fig for the lovely Circassian."
Jack thought that this might be a desirable move, and so he tried to square matters a bit.
"Do so, and I will be your friend," he said.
"Consider it done," exclaimed Mole. "I like you as I did, and do, your father, but I must have my joke."
The perilous adventures which our friends had encountered on their expedition did not deter them from further enterprises.
Only two days after the events just recorded, Jack's party set out on a picnic excursion, to examine the beauties of the surrounding neighbourhood.
It was not towards the desert that they directed their steps this time, but in the opposite direction.
Mr. Figgins, upon this journey, showed his usual talent for getting into scrapes.