"I will tell you presently; be not in such haste," said the sick man.
"I am at your service."
"Have I not always paid you well when employed by me, lieutenant?"
"Nobly, general, only too liberally."
"Would you like to serve me again in a still more profitable job?"
"Nothing could be more agreeable."
"But it is a matter that requires courage, skill, care and secrecy. It is no boy's play."
"All the better for that, general."
"Perhaps you will not say so when I have explained it to you more fully."
"You have tried me before now!" answered the jailor, emphatically.