you, lad. You're the only man around here who likes a joke as well as
I do. And you will have a company if you'll only stick to it a little
longer."

"I have decided, Colonel. I'm sorry you feel like this about it. You
see, I have something like twenty-five thousand laid away. I want to
see at least five thousand dollars' worth of new scenery before I
shuffle off this mortal coil. The scenery around here palls on me. My
throat and eyes are always full of sand. I am off to Europe. Some
day, perhaps, the bee will buzz again; and when it does, I'll have
you go personally to the president."

"As you please, Warburton."

"Besides, Colonel, I have been reading Treasure Island again, and
I've got the fever in my veins to hunt for adventure, even a
treasure. It's in my blood to wander and do strange things, and here
I've been hampered all these years with routine. I shouldn't care if
we had a good fight once in a while. My poor old dad traveled around
the world three times, and I haven't seen anything of it but the
maps."

"Go ahead, then. Only, talking about Treasure Island, don't you and
your twenty-five thousand run into some old Long John Silver."

"I'll take care."

And Mr. Robert packed up his kit and sailed away. Not many months
passed ere he met his colonel again, and under rather embarrassing
circumstances.