"You can!" exclaimed the young fellow.
"I can, and I will," said the captain, quietly, "on one condition—that you will never mention that you are indebted to me for your success."
"I promise that," said Mr. Smythe, eagerly; "and you really will——"
"Do my best to recommend you to the earl and his peerless daughter, and, what is more, I will venture to bet you something, that I succeed."
"Eh?" said Mr. Smythe, scarcely catching the idea.
Then suddenly he saw what Mr. Howard Murpoint meant.
"I see!" he said. "I'll bet you—you a—a—five thousand."
The captain raised his eyebrows.
"I never bet," he said, "unless the stake is worth something. If I am to enter it in my book it must be twenty thousand."