Baby Blount looked at his father and smiled again, and it was a
revelation to me of the deepest and finest feelings of a man's heart to
see how ravished Sir James was with this first smile of his baby boy's.

"It's you that's changed, James, not our little darling," said his wife.
"He'll always smile at a face as happy as yours is this morning."

I lingered through these delightful moments over an old book and a new
baby with an easy conscience, for Master Freake had brought me news which
made my third task much easier. I had not told him what I had in hand to
do, thinking it unfair to force the knowledge on him, but he must have
made a good guess at it, for he came to tell me that the latest news from
Stone was that the Duke was moving south again at top speed, with the
intention of getting between the Prince and London if he could. He told me
further that Charles had joined Murray at Ashbourne in the small hours,
and that their reunited forces had started out for Derby. In all these
important matters he was, as is obvious enough now, fully and exactly
informed, and I expressed my admiration of his thoroughness.

"Business, my dear Oliver, nothing but business. Some great man of old
time has said 'Knowledge is power.' I'm expanding that a little to fit
these modern days. That's all."

"How does the maxim run now, sir?"

"Knowledge is money and money is power," said he, with a dry smile.

Then, as to matters small in themselves but of more immediate concern to
me, he told me that his man, Dot Gibson, had reported that the spy, Weir,