72 THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 



go out and see about it, and settle with him, there's a good 

 chap. I'm just off upstairs," and Sir Tommy beat a precipi- 

 tate retreat, as he invariably did whenever there was any 

 question of payment in the wind. 



Mr. Binkie put his hands in his pockets, and went out to 

 meet the runaway. The gipsy -looking man touched the rim 

 of his hat, and said — 



" Ar've hrought 'um whoam, sir." 



" Oh, really ! " went the ' penny-whistle voice,' as Jack 

 Dashwood called it. "I should have thought that he'd 

 brought you home ! " and Travers gave a vacuous grin at 

 what he thought to be a highly original witticism. 



The man stared stolidly at him. Then he scratched his 

 head and said, " Ar've lost half-a-day's work through bringing 

 of 'um whoam." 



" Oh, really ! but that's rather nice for you, isn't it ? Gives 

 you a sort of holiday, eh ? " 



" Ar've lost half-a-day's work, and who's to pay me for it, 

 ar wants to know ? " 



" Oh, you mean you've lost half-a-day's pay. I see. Well, 

 I suppose Tommy ought, as he fell off, but I shall have to, 

 because Tommy never pays anybody. How much do you 

 earn, my man '?" 



" Poond a week, sir." (It was fourteen shillings really, 

 but the horny-handed son of toil was not particular to a 

 ' stretcher ' here and there, whenever anything was to be 

 got by it.) 



" Oh, really! Well, half-a-day at a week a pound. I mean 

 half-a-week at a pound a^ — oh, d — n it ! where's a piece of 

 paper and a pencil. Ah, here's a pencil. I'll write it on my 



