smoked and passed his fingers through his pendent whiskers.

"Excuse me," said Dacres, abruptly.

"Certainly, my dear boy, a thousand times; only I hope you will allow
me to remark that your style is altogether a new one, and during the
whole course of our acquaintance I do not remember seeing it before.
You have a melodramatic way that is overpowering. Still I don't see
why you should swear at yourself in a place like Naples, where there
are so many other things to swear at. It's a waste of human energy,
and I don't understand it. We usedn't to indulge in soliloquies in
South America, used we?"

[ILLUSTRATION: "HAWBURY SANK BACK IN HIS SEAT, OVERWHELMED."]

"No, by Jove! And look here, old chap, you'll overlook this little
outburst, won't you? In South America I was always cool, and you did
the hard swearing, my boy. I'll be cool again; and what's more, I'll
get back to South America again as soon as I can. Once on the pampas,
and I'll be a man again. I tell you what it is, I'll start to-morrow.
What do you say? Come."

"Oh no," said Hawbury, coolly; "I can't do that. I have business, you
know."

"Business?"

"Oh yes, you know--Ethel, you know."

"By Jove! so you have. That alters the matter."