He took me for a long walk to break it to me, over the hills towards
Yare and across the great gorse commons by Hazelbrow.

"There are ups and downs in life, George," he said--halfway across that
great open space, and paused against the sky.... "I left out one factor
in the Union Pacific analysis."

"DID you?" I said, struck by the sudden chance in his voice. "But you
don't mean?"

I stopped and turned on him in the narrow sandy rut of pathway and he
stopped likewise.

"I do, George. I DO mean. It's bust me! I'm a bankrupt here and now."

"Then--?"

"The shop's bust too. I shall have to get out of that."

"And me?"

"Oh, you!--YOU'RE all right. You can transfer your apprenticeship,
and--er--well, I'm not the sort of man to be careless with trust funds,
you can be sure. I kept that aspect in mind. There's some of it left
George--trust me!--quite a decent little sum."

"But you and aunt?"

"It isn't QUITE the way we meant to leave Wimblehurst, George; but we