did not use the word lunatic just then.

"No," I replied to his unspoken thought, "I am not mentally weak; my mind
is as healthy as Mr. Wilde's. I do not care to explain just yet what I
have on hand, but it is an investment which will pay more than mere gold,
silver and precious stones. It will secure the happiness and prosperity
of a continent--yes, a hemisphere!"

"Oh," said Hawberk.

"And eventually," I continued more quietly, "it will secure the happiness
of the whole world."

"And incidentally your own happiness and prosperity as well as Mr.
Wilde's?"

"Exactly," I smiled. But I could have throttled him for taking that tone.

He looked at me in silence for a while and then said very gently, "Why
don't you give up your books and studies, Mr. Castaigne, and take a tramp
among the mountains somewhere or other? You used to be fond of fishing.
Take a cast or two at the trout in the Rangelys."

"I don't care for fishing any more," I answered, without a shade of
annoyance in my voice.

"You used to be fond of everything," he continued; "athletics, yachting,
shooting, riding--"

"I have never cared to ride since my fall," I said quietly.