182 AN ANGLER AT LARGE 



It was about British people then resident in 

 the East, or home on leave, or voyaging between 

 England and ultimate Asia. It was about nothing 

 else. The names of these people were in many 

 cases the names of people that I knew, but I could 

 never discover that Derry and Thorns were ac- 

 quainted with any of these friends of mine. 



There were, for instance, two men called Hay 

 about whom they talked for nearly the whole of 

 one course. When they began, I had a fleeting 

 hope that one of them might be Hay the stock- 

 broker, a man I would gladly have criticised 

 adversely. But it was only Hay of Penang. 

 And their other Hay was Hay of Perak, cousin 

 of the first Hay, and quite unconnected with the 

 Stock Exchange. It was either Corbould or 

 " Bruggy " Cotton that Thorns had passed at 

 Singapore or Suez on his way back from England 

 to Johore or the Chagos Archipelago. In either 

 case the dear old chap was looking as fit as a flea 

 after his leave. Barnes had gone to Christmas 

 Island. Anson had married money. There had 

 been the devil to pay at Labuan, but probably 

 Derry had heard about that. No, Derry had 

 heard nothing. Here Thorns became aware of 

 my presence, which he had forgotten, and his dis- 

 cretion caused him to speak about the appointment 

 of old Billy K. to Selangore. No doubt at some 



