“What does he want to leave the army for?” inquired Mr. Price suspiciously. “Nothing fishy about it, I suppose? The army’s a very good profession for a man that has got up in it.”
“’T’s not lucrative, very,” observed Joseph, “nor int’resting exactly, I should think. And Egypt’s a tedious sort of place; nothing t’ do except learn about it and so on; th’ sort of thing Vachell’s good at. You know, so far as Hatton’s concerned I c’n understand a man pr’ferring to use his intell’gence in the panoply of war, rather than th’ executive; specially if there’s nothing t’ execute, if you see what I mean. And, aft’r all, the sort of thing he’d be doing f’r us might be useful in all sorts of ways in ’nother war. There’s no earthly reason, if you come t’ think of it, why he shouldn’t join up again ’n that case and take th’ thing up where he left it.”
“Yes, yes,” said Mr. Price, “but that’s not the point. What I want to find out is, has he any business capacity apart from this talent?”
“’Mense capacity, I b’lieve,” said Joseph. “It’s his strong point.”
“How do you know? What experience have you of him?”
“When I was at Drage the f’llers talked of nothing else. He was the very man that ought to have taken over your plant then.”
“But surely he was in France at that time,” said the perplexed parent.
“Yes, I know, but everyone was going backwards and forwards all th’ time, and they all knew what th’ others were doing. There was a story about him, I r’member——”
“Well?” said Mr. Price, as his son stopped.
“No, you must get him t’ tell it you himself; I might spoil it. But kait sairysly, Dad, he’s the very f’ller you’re looking for.”