“Well?” said Jimmy.

“What I want to see you about is the verse,” said Angel, stirring his soup.

Jimmy laughed aloud.

“What a clever little devil you are, Angel,” he said admiringly; “and not so little either, in inches or devilishness.”

He relapsed into silence, and the wrinkled forehead was eloquent.

“Think hard,” taunted Angel.

“I’m thinking,” said Jimmy slowly. “I used a pencil, as there was no blotting paper. I only made one copy, just as the old man dictated it, and——”

“You used a block,” said Angel obligingly, “and only tore off the top sheet. And you pressed rather heavily on that, so that the next sheet bore a legible impression.”

Jimmy looked annoyed.

“What an ass I am!” he said, and was again silent.