“Then what becomes of the candour of which you boasted? Has it gone with the veneer?”
“They are keeping each other company on the ocean some miles behind us. I have thrown them overboard.”
Miss Stretton laughed with rather more of heartiness than she had yet exhibited.
“Well, I declare,” she cried; “this is a transformation scene, all in the moonlight!”
“No, I am not Mr. Hemster’s servant. Mr. Hemster desires to use my knowledge of the Eastern languages and my experience in Oriental diplomacy. For this he has engaged to pay, but I am no more his servant than Sir Edward Clark is a menial to the client who pays him for the knowledge he possesses; and, if you will permit me the English brag, which you utilized a little while since, I say I am a gentleman and therefore the equal of Mr. Silas K. Hemster, or any one else.”
“You mean superior, and not equal.”
“Madam, with all due respect, I mean nothing of the sort.”
“Nevertheless, that is what is in your mind and in your manner. By the way, is your lecture completed?”
“Yes, entirely so. It is your innings now. You have the floor, or the deck rather.”
“Then I should like to say that Silas K. Hemster, as you call him, is one of the truest gentlemen that ever lived.”