THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 89 



speaker.) " You know who a-mean ; Mishter Eonal' Turn- 

 over (hie) no, don't mean that." At this juncture, the 

 ladies rose and left for the drawing-room. "Eonal' Tennis- 

 court. Fine chap, my fren' Eonal' Tenniscourt. Damsight 

 liner chap than " 



" Travers ! " ejaculated Mr. Septimus Binkie severely. 



"Well, beg par'n, I'm sure, if used langwidge unbecom'n' 

 officer an' a genelman, but my fren' Mishter — - — " 



The door slammed behind Mr. Septimus Binkie as he left 

 the dining-room in high dudgeon. And here let us say, in 

 defence of poor Travers, that his head was a very weak one for 

 withstanding the effects of alcohol. Measured by the capacity 

 of other men, he had not taken very much ; but, alas ! it was 

 too much for him. Furthermore, let us say that he had really 

 no taste for strong drink when left alone, but he had not been 

 left alone on this occasion, as we know, and a luncheon with 

 Miss Tottie Turnover had tried him pretty high. 



Tommy nudged Jack, and Jack winked at Tommy. Then 

 they proceeded to act, and a quarter of an hour later Travers 

 Algernon was safely tucked in between the sheets, and sleeping 

 the sleep of blissful unconsciousness and innocence. At least, 

 I hope I am saying the correct thing in speaking of his sleep 

 as the sleep of innocence. In all the books I have ever read 

 I have found that anybody who slept soundly was sleeping the 

 sleep of innocence ; such a thing as indigestion, for example, 

 not being admitted as a possible factor in the undoing of this 

 excellent arrangement of Nature's — or the novelist's, as the 

 case may be. 



Next morning it was the old, old story. A thousand hammers 

 were making an anvil of poor Travers's head, and for the five 



