"Are your labours heavy?"
"Oh, heavy enough; there are many details."
"You have a splendid force, sir."
"I have, and they are loyal to me and their country."
"Loyalty is among the chief of human virtues. But is loyalty in all cases a virtue?"
"I consider it so."
"Your men must find many duties distasteful to them."
"Duty is often distasteful, but it is never to be mistaken. With me it is very well defined. Are you also taking a morning constitutional?"
"I am going up to the Dome." It would not do for John to let the other know the whereabouts of his abode or to divulge the fact that it was his custom to sleep at night. It was a custom with many in that city of perpetual light to sleep in the normal daytime and work at night.
"I'm going the same way. We'll walk together. I wish to spy out the land a bit. We may decide to build a trail to Moosehide."