have won back his lost Madeline seemed altogether too good to be true.

As it happened, Sir Eustace had asked one or two men to meet him,
amongst them an Under-Secretary for the Colonies, who, having to prepare
for a severe cross-examination in the House upon South African affairs,
had jumped at the opportunity of sucking the brains of a man thoroughly
acquainted with the subject. But the expectant Under-Secretary was
destined to meet with a grievous disappointment, for out of Bottles
came no good thing. For the most part of the dinner he sat silent, only
speaking when directly addressed, and then answering so much at random
that the Under-Secretary quickly came to the conclusion that Sir
Eustace's brother was either a fool or that he had drunk too much.

Sir Eustace himself saw that his brother's taciturnity had spoilt his
little dinner, and his temper was not improved thereby. He was not
accustomed to have his dinners spoiled, and felt that, so far as the
Under-Secretary was concerned, he had put himself into a false position.

"My dear George," he said in a tone of bland exasperation when they had
got back to the Albany, "I wonder what can be the matter with you? I
told Atherleigh that you would be able to post him up thoroughly about
all this Bechuana mess, and he could not get a word out of you."

His brother absently filled his pipe before he answered:

"The Bechuanas? Oh, yes, I know all about them. I lived among them for a
year."

"Then why on earth didn't you tell him what you knew? You put me in
rather a false position."