"It's very hard, sir, to be turned adrift after all these years!"
"It is hard, Watson; but you must remember I am a sufferer as well as you; it is very hard for me."
Watson gave a sniff of contempt. "You have your commission, sir, and your grand friends."
"Say had, Watson, not have; all that will be a thing of the past. I must leave the army."
"Dear, dear!" said the old butler. "Dear, dear! I do feel for you, sir."
"But surely," said Watson, "there will be something. Look at all this furniture, and the house and park; they haven't gone!"
"Yes, there may be something, Watson. I can't tell yet until I know what my father's obligations were. I fear that he was more than an ordinary shareholder in this mine, and that those who have lost by means of it may come upon his estate for such compensation as it may be able to yield. You may rest assured, however, that your legacies will be paid before I myself touch a single penny of my father's money."
"It's very good of you to say so," said the old butler; "but I'm sure none of us would like to rob you, sir."
"It would be no robbery, Elkington, only justice," said the Captain.
"Well, it's very hard!" said Watson. "Very hard; and what's to become of me, I'm sure I don't know. I can't take another situation at my time of life, and the old gentleman always promised he'd see I was provided for."