"'I THINK I DROPPED MY NIPPERS,' HE EXPLAINED, NERVOUSLY."
"I've a notion I shall win those twenty mil," said I to myself, as I picked up the nippers he had dropped. "Anyhow, the Captain will have to return for this little implement."
The engine gave a couple of piercing shrieks; the guard leaned out and blew his penny trumpet; the station-master's bell could be heard ringing furiously ahead of us; and all this unnecessary noise merely meant that we were entering Cintra station. Just before we came to a standstill, Farquhar paid me the visit I was waiting for.
"My nippers," he explained, nervously, poking his head in at the window and peering about; "I think I dropped them."
I handed the tool to him. He took it, and then, with breathless haste, jerked out, "Look here, I'm off duty at eight. Come to my shanty if you can—pink-washed hut just below the Quinta da Bella Vista. Sorry I was rude to you just now."
Then he dropped off the foot-board, and the train pulled up at the platform with a clumsy jerk.
"Yes," remarked Farquhar, contentedly, "you're right. There are uglier spots in the world than this."
Then he blew a couple of smoke-rings, and watched them dissolve slowly in the still air.