trust to, but me, in such a case. It is but a
week's absence. I must start in ten minutes,
and catch the 4.20 on its way up."

"That was a very important telegram," I said
sharply to the station-master, "and you ought not
to have sent it by any unknown and unauthorised
person. Who was this old gentleman, pray?"

"Who was it, Harvey?" said the station-master,
rather sulkily, to the porter.

"Old gent, sir, very respectable, as comes to
the Dawsons', the training-stables. Has horses
there."

"Do not let that sort of thing occur again,
Mr. Jennings," I said, "or I shall be obliged to
report it. I wouldn't have had that telegram
mislaid, for a hundred pounds."

Mr. Jennings, the station-master, grumbled
something, and then boxed the telegraph boy's
ears. Which seemed to do him (Mr. Jennings)
good.

"We were getting very anxious," said Mr.
Schwarzmoor, as I entered the bank parlour,
only three minutes late. "Very anxious, weren't
we, Goldrick?"

"Very anxious," said the little neat head
clerk. "Very anxious."

Mr. Schwarzmoor was a full faced man of about
sixty, with thick white eyebrows and a red face
—a combination which gave him an expression
of choleric old age. He was a shrewd severe
man of business: a little impetuous and fond of
rule, but polite, kind, and considerate.

"I hope your charming wife is quite well.
Sorry, indeed, to break up your holiday; but
no help for it, my dear fellow. There is the specie
in those two iron boxes, enclosed in leather to
look like samples. They are fastened with letter-locks,
and contain a quarter of a million in gold.
The Neapolitan king apprehends a rebellion."
(It was three years before Garibaldi's victories.)
"You will take the money to Messrs. Pagliavicini
and Rossi, No. 172 Toledo, Naples. The names
that open the locks are, on the one with the
white star on the cover, Masinisa; on the one
with the black star, Cotopaxo. Of course you
will not forget the talismanic words. Open the
boxes at Lyons, to make sure that all is safe.
Talk to no one. Make no friends on the road.
Your commission is of vast importance."

"I shall pass," said I, "for a commercial traveller."

"Pardon me for my repeated cautions, Blamyre,
but I am an older man than you, and
know the danger of travelling with specie. If
your purpose was known to-night in Paris, your
road to Marseilles would be as dangerous as if
all the galley-slaves at Toulon had been let loose
in special chase of you. I do not doubt your
discretion: I only warn you to be careful. Of
course, you go armed?"

I opened my coat, and showed a belt under my
waistcoat, with a revolver in it. At which warlike
spectacle the old clerk drew back in alarm.

"Good!" said Mr. Schwarzmoor. "But one
grain of prudence is worth five times the five
bullets in those five barrels. You will stop in
Paris to-morrow to transact business with
Lefebre and Desjeans, and you will go on by the
12.15 (night) to Marseilles, catching the boat on
Friday. We will telegraph to you at Marseilles.
Are the letters for Paris ready, Mr. Hargrave?"

"Yes, sir, nearly ready. Mr. Wilkins is hard
at them."

I reached Dover by midnight, and instantly
engaged four porters to carry my specie chests
down the stone steps leading from the pier to the
Calais boat. The first was taken on board quite
safely; but while the second was being carried
down, one of the men slipped, and would
certainly have fallen into the water, had he not been
caught in the arms of a burly old Indian officer,
who, laden with various traps, and urging forward
his good-natured but rather vulgar wife,
was preceding me.

"Steady there, my lad," he said. "Why,
what have you got there? Hardware?"

"Don't know, sir; I only know it's heavy
enough to break any man's back," was the rough
answer, as the man thanked his questioner in his
blunt way.

"These steps, sir, are very troublesome for
bringing down heavy goods," said an obliging
voice behind me. "I presume, sir, from your
luggage, that we are of the same profession?"

I looked round as we just then stepped on
board. The person who addressed me was a
tall thin man, with a long and rather Jewish nose,
and a narrow elongated face. He wore a greatcoat
too short for him, a flowered waistcoat,
tight trousers, a high shirt collar, and a light
sprigged stiff neckcloth.

I replied that I had the honour to be a
commercial traveller, and that I thought we
were going to have a rough night of it.

"Decidedly dirty night," he replied; "and
I advise you, sir, to secure a berth at once. The
boat, I see, is very crowded."

I went straight to my berth, and lay down for
an hour; at the end of that time I got up and
looked around me. At one of the small tables
sat half a dozen of the passengers, including
the old Indian and my old-fashioned interrogator.
They were drinking bottled porter,
and appeared very sociable. I rose and joined
them, and we exchanged some remarks not
complimentary to night travelling.

"By Jove, sir, it is simply unbearable!" said
the jovial Major Baxter (for he soon told us his
name); "it is as stifling as Peshawah when the
hot Tinsang wind is blowing; suppose we three
go on deck and take a little air? My wife
suffers in these crossings; she's invisible, I know,
till the boat stops. Steward, bring up some more
bottled porter."

When we got on deck, I saw, to my extreme
surprise, made conspicuous by their black and
white stars, four other cases exactly similar to
mine, except that they had no painted brand upon
them. I could hardly believe my eyes; but
there they were; leather covers, letter-locks,
and all.