SHOOTING 29 



and astonishment were about equally com- 

 mingled. 



" Vot is dis ?" he shouted angrily; " you make 

 a nonzenze of me, eh ?" and with a quivering 

 forefinger, Lord Guelderstein pointed to the 

 pink object which the unrolling of the paper had 

 disclosed, and which now lay upon the table 

 before him. 



It was all in vain that Sir Noel tried to explain 

 away the accident. The financier obstinately 

 refused to listen to his apologies, and in a few 

 moments my uncle found himself being led down- 

 stairs by members of that large staff of private 

 detectives which philanthropists like Lord Guel- 

 derstein deem it necessary to maintain in order 

 to deal with those numerous persons who would 

 take advantage of their innocence. Thus it was 

 that my uncle's pet scheme was frustrated; the 

 widow and the orphan continued to be the 

 pathetic prey of other less scrupulous or more 

 fortunate promoters; and the imprudence of 

 surreptitiously feeding sporting dogs at meals 

 was once again made evident. 



7. 



Upon one other question my uncle and aunt 

 did not invariably see eye to eye. Sir Noel 

 objected very strongly to the presence of the 



