“That will do,” said Piper, raising his hand; “we can go into that matter at a less pressing moment than the present. What sort is Rowton’s boy?”

“A fine lad,” said Scrivener.

“You have seen him?”

“Often.”

“Describe him.”

“Slim, dark, tall,” answered Scrivener; “plucky, a little dare-devil like his uncle there—in short, Silver himself in miniature.”

“Suitable, do you think?” said Long John, looking fixedly at Scrivener.

“Undoubtedly; the very lad for our purpose; heaps of go in him; don’t know the meaning of funk; slippery and agile as an eel.”

“That will do, Scrivener,” said Long John.

Scrivener retired down the room and Long John turned to Rowton.