Mr. Kentish was not to be drawn into a second deliverance on the bushranging career. "Is it a good number?" he asked, nodding toward the copy of Punch. The bushranger picked it up.
"Good enough for me."
"What date?"
"Ninth of December."
"Nearly three months ago. I was in London then," remarked Kentish, in a reflective tone.
"Really?" cried Stingaree, under his breath. His voice was as soft as the other's, but there was suppressed interest in his manner. His dark eyes were only less alight than the red cigar he took from his teeth as he spoke. And he held it like a connoisseur, between finger and thumb, for all his ruined palate.
"I was," repeated Kentish. "I didn't sail till the middle of the month."
"To think you were in town till nearly Christmas!" and Stingaree gazed enviously. "It must be hard to realize," he added in some haste.
"Other things," replied Kentish, "are harder."
"I gather from the Punch cartoon that the new Law Courts are in use at last?"