'It looks to me,' said Charteris, 'as if Welch, thinking his chances of
the quarter rather rocky, hired one of his low acquaintances to steal
the cup for him.'

'Shouldn't wonder. Welch knows some jolly low characters in Stapleton.'

'Welch is a jolly low character himself,' said Tony, judicially. 'I
wonder you associate with him, Alderman.'

'Stand _in loco parentis_. Aunt of his asked me to keep an eye on
him. "Dear George is so wild,"' she said.

Before Welch could find words to refute this hideous slander, Tony cut
in once more.

'The only reason he doesn't drink gin and play billiards at the "Blue
Lion" is that gin makes him ill and his best break at pills is six,
including two flukes.'

'As a matter of fact,' said Welch, changing the conversation with a
jerk, 'I don't much care if the cups are stolen. One doesn't only run
for the sake of the pot.'

Charteris groaned. 'Oh, well,' said he, 'if you're going to take the
high moral standpoint, and descend to brazen platitudes like that, I
give you up.'

'It's a rum thing about those pots,' said Welch, meditatively.