"I thought you would be pleased," I replied contentedly.
"Pleased!" He stopped his perambulation. "It's the most gorgeous thing I've ever struck in my life. You were always a nailer at finding trouble, but this beats the band."
"And you'll come and see me through, Billy?"
He brought his fist down with a bang on the table.
"I'm with you, my son," he said, "to your last half-penny."
There was a short pause, while Billy, overcome with the magnificence of his emotions, again attacked the brandy.
"Now let me see if I've got it right," he began, resuming his progress up and down the room. "You think that Maurice what's-his-name—this cousin of yours—is in with the gang that are trying to put you through it?"
"Well, it was by his advice I engaged Francis," I pointed out.
"And I'm to come down with you to-morrow and put up at the nearest pub—eh?"
"That's right," I said. "You see, I'm not much afraid of anything happening to me in the house. However much of a scoundrel Maurice may be, he's not the sort to run his neck into a noose if he can help it. My own idea is that some of these gentle Dagoes who have been making things so lively up here will probably follow me down and try to arrange a convenient accident. Maurice was talking a lot about the excellence of the shooting."