252 THE HAUGHTY SHI RE HUNT. 



upshot of the case would enable him to claim the fulfilment 

 of Mrs. Binkie's promise to consent to his marriage with 

 Penelope ; whilst Jack and Sir Tommy were both looking 

 forward with a considerable amount of glee to the prospect 

 of seeing Travers ' dusted over ' by Mr. Silky Q.C., when 

 he got him into the box for cross-examination. Eochefoucauld, 

 the great French philosopher, never said anything truer than 

 that ' few things give us greater satisfaction than the mis- 

 fortunes of our friends.' Eeader, Ave ask solemnly, can you 

 deny it ? And especially if you are a hunting man ! 



But Travers did not give the appearance of one in 

 misfortune, this night. His spirits, as we have said, had 

 wonderfully recovered their tone ; he was gay, nay, even 

 hilarious ; and after, as he expressed it, ' doing himself proud ' 

 on the dry Monopole, he stuck an extremely long cigar in his 

 mouth, winked confidentially at the waiter as he ordered coffee 

 and liqueurs, and then the spirit within moved him to speech, 

 or, as Jack called it, to ' spread himself a bit.' 



" Look here, you chappies ; I bet there won't be any verdict 

 against me in this case, eh, Eonald ? " 



Pionald shook his head. " I think we're pretty safe already," 

 he replied, lighting a cigar. Travers again winked knowingly ; 

 this time at Tommy's hat, stuck on a side table, and which 

 Mr. Binkie mistook for a waiter. Then he resumed — 



" You'll see how I'll bother old Silky when he cross- 

 examines me ! And when we've won the case, you chappies 

 must all dine with me at Richmond to celebrate the event, eh '? 

 I say, old Mrs. Turnover can tell some whackers, can't she? " 

 and then the subject was dropped, and about midnight the 

 party broke up. 



