dear! oh dear! when shall I see the last of them?"

Presently they were established in the den, the Colonel very cool and
comfortable in Mr. Porson's armchair, and Porson himself perched
upon the edge of a new-looking leather sofa in an attitude of pained
expectancy.

"Now I am at your service, Colonel," he said.

"Oh! yes; well, it is just this. I want you, if you will, to look
through these figures for me," and he produced and handed to him a
portentous document headed "List of Obligations."

Mr. Porson glanced at it, and instantly his round, simple face became
clever and alert. Here he was on his own ground. In five minutes he had
mastered the thing.

"Yes," he said, in a quick voice, "this is quite clear, but there is
some mistake in the addition making a difference of 87 pounds 3s. 10d.
in your favour. Well, where is the schedule of assets?"

"The schedule of assets, my dear John? I wish I knew. I have my pension,
and there are the Abbey and estates, which, as things are, seem to
be mortgaged to their full value. That's about all, I think.
Unless--unless"--and he laughed, "we throw in Morris's patent electrical
machine, which won't work."

"It ought to be reckoned, perhaps," replied Mr. Porson gravely; adding
in a kind of burst, with an air of complete conviction: "I believe in
Morris's machine, or, at least, I believe in Morris. He has the makings