was to have Peter go. There was a brief pause.
"Since you are so crazy to have me," said Peter, "I'll go."
"Thank you," said Varney. He picked up his glass, which he had hitherto
not touched, drained it at a gulp and pushed the bell vigorously. "I
knew," he cried, "that you'd see the possibilities when once your brain
began to work."
Peter's faint smile was an insult in its way. "Three things have decided
me to go with you, old son, and none of them has anything to do with
your possibilities. The first is that I'm the one man in a million you
really need in case of trouble."
"Peter, your modesty is your curse."
"The second is--did you read the _Sun_ this morning? It seems that this
little town of Hunston is having a violent spasm of politics right now.
Rather lucky coincidence, I should say. The dispatch I read was pretty
vague, but I gather that there's an interesting fight on between a
strong machine and a small but firm reform movement."
"Ha! Occupation for you while I beat the woods for little Mary."
"I'll need it."
"Well, what was your other wonderful reason?"
"Don't you know? It is that sixty horse-power oath your uncle made you
swear."
"Because it committed me, you mean?"
The door opened, men entered noisily, and Peter had to draw Varney aside
to explain darkly: "Because it committed me to wondering what
difficulties foxy old Carstairs made a point of concealing from you."
"Meet me upstairs in ten minutes," said Varney, "and we'll talk about
plans."
CHAPTER II
THEY EMBARK UPON A CRIME
Varney was wrong in one thing: Mr. Carstairs's _Cypriani_ was not ready
to start anywhere at half a day's notice. For that reason it did not
start for Hunston on the following afternoon. As always happens, the
preparations for the little expedition took four times as long as
anybody would have thought possible.
For these delays no blame could be attached to Peter Maginnis. He had no
getting ready to do beyond bidding his father's man to pack him for a
week, and obtaining from his hatter's, at an out-of-season cut-price, an
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