"What's the matter, General? How has the case gone?"
"Gone? Haven't you been in the house?"
"No; how has it gone?"
"Gone to hell," said Mr. Belcher, leaning over heavily upon Talbot, and whispering it in his ear.
"Not so bad as that, I hope," said Talbot, pushing him off.
"Toll," said the suffering man, "haven't I always used you well? You are not going to turn against the General? You've made a good thing out of him, Toll."
"What's happened, General? Tell me."
"Toll, you'll be shut up to-morrow. Play your cards right. Make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness."
Talbot sat and thought very fast. He saw that there was serious trouble, and questioned whether he were not compromising himself. Still, the fact that the General had enriched him, determined him to stand by his old principal as far as he could, consistently with his own safety.
"What can I do for you, General?" he said.