"'A little.'
"'Good man, Sir,' quoth the stranger.
"'Glad to hear it, Sir.'
"'Do anything with Thomson in King Street?'
"'No, Sir.'
"'Shaky, Sir.'
"'Sorry to hear it, Sir; recommend Mahomet's baths!'
"'Anything with Smith in James Street?'
"'Nothing,—I have heard the name of Smith before, certainly; but of this particular Smith I know nothing.'"
The stranger looked at Poole earnestly, advanced to the table, and with his arms a-kimbo said,—