He had just come to the conclusion that there must be an end to his masquerading now, when Jerry recovered himself sufficiently to demand a full account of how he had escaped from the flood.
This had to be given, and then Dick cried bitterly—
“Then my cousin did not die, after all?”
“Him? Die? Not, he, sir. He wouldn’t, die a bit. He allus was a base deceiver of a fellow—beggin’ your pardon, sir.”
“And I frightened myself into that folly for nothing!”
“Well, he was bad, sir, certainly; and the doctors thought so, too. But he allus falls on his feet, sir. I don’t. Nice mess I made of it, sir!”
“Ah! How came you to enlist, Jerry?” said Dick, forcing himself to take some interest in his old servant.
“How came I to ’list, sir? Why, all along o’ him. I got in such a mess I had to leave Mr Draycott’s.”
“How, Jerry? Why?”
“Got wild, sir. I’d been idgit enough to think as I could make a lot o’ money with my savings by putting ’em on hosses, and so soon as I did, sir, they wouldn’t win a bit; and, from going to the hosses, I went next to the dogs; and then I was in such a state that there was no chance for me at all; and I wrote to him at last, for I see his name in the paper as being gazetted to the 310th. And what d’yer think he said?”