“Please understand, madame, that you must henceforward apply that endearing epithet to no one save your affianced husband,” Jim peremptorily ordered.
“I shall certainly not apply it to you, Jim,” replied the laughing girl. “I do respect you a little, you know.”
“That’s so,” interposed Ted. “Old Jim’s a good bit of an ass, you know, but he’s not quite idiotic or depraved enough to be likened to a duck. Is Mr. Vernon a fool that you call him that?”
“By no means; he’s a most charming man. I simply intimated that until recently he has been employed in the Company’s service in the Bombay Presidency. Haven’t you learned that slang yet, Ted?”
“No! What on earth do you mean?”
“Well, if a man serves in Bengal he’s a Qui hy; in Bombay he becomes a duck, and in Madras he’s benighted. You know that you’re a griffin,[1] I suppose?”
[1] A new-comer—equivalent to the American “tenderfoot”.
“Oh, yes! I know that much.”
“In reply to your question, then, Jim, Mr. Vernon has not been here long; he owns a good horse, and he’s a first-rate rider. One of your Guide officers is in too, is he not?”
“Spencer means to have a try, and he’ll take a lot of beating. The men of the Guides cavalry can ride, understand, and you ought to feel honoured that one is going to take the trouble to patronize your races.”