146 mr. sponge's sporting tour. 



" I'm your man," replied Jack. 



" I never was so bothered with a fellow in my life," observed his 

 lordship. " Captain Topsawyer was bad enough, and always pressed 

 far too close on the hounds, but he would pull up at a check ; but 

 this rusty booted 'bomination seems to think the hounds are kept 

 for him to ride over. He must be got rid of somehow," repeated 

 his lordship ; " for we shall have no peace while he's here." 



" If he's after either of the Jawley girls, he'll be bad to shake 

 off," observed Jack. 



" That's just the point," replied his lordship, quaffing off his 

 gin with the air of a man most thoroughly thirsty; " that's just the 

 point," repeated he, setting down his tumbler. " I think, if he is, I 

 could cook his goose for him." 



" How so ? " asked Jack, drinking off his glass. 



" Why, I'll tell you," replied his lordship, replenishing his tum- 

 bler, and passing the old gilt-labelled blue bottle over to Jack; 

 "you see, Frosty's a cunning old file, picks up all the news and 

 gossip of the country when he's out at exercise with the hounds, or 

 in going to cover — knows everything ! — who licks his wife, and whose 

 wife licks him — who's after such a girl, and so on ; — and he's found 

 out somehow that this Mr. What's-his-name isn't the man of metal 

 he's passing for." 



" Indeed ! " exclaimed Jack, raising his eyebrows, and squinting 

 his eyes inside out ; Jack's opinion of a man being entirely regulated 

 by his purse. 



" It's a fact," said his lordship, with a knowing shake of his 

 head. " As we were toddling home with the hounds, I said to 

 Frosty, ' I hope that Mr. Something's comfortable in his bath' — 

 meaning Gobblecow Bog, which he rode into. ' Why,' said Frosty 

 1 it's no great odds what comes of such rubbage as that.' Now, 

 Frosty, you know, in a general way, is a most polite, fair-spoken man, 

 specially before Christmas, when he begins to look for the tips; 

 and as we are not much troubled with strangers, thanks to your 

 sensible way of handling them, I thought Frosty would have made 

 the most of this natural son of Dives, and been as polite to him 

 as possible. However, he was evidently no favourite of Frosty's. 

 So I just asked — not that one likes to be familiar with servants, you 

 know, but still this brown-booted beggar is enough to excite one's 

 curiosity, and to make any one go out of one's way a little, — so I just 

 asked Frosty what he knew about him. ' All over the left,' said 

 Frosty, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder, and looking as 

 knowing as a goose with one eye ; ' all over the left,' repeated he. 

 ' What's over the left ? ' said I. l Why, this Mr. Sponge,' said he. 

 1 How so ? ' asked I. ' Why,' said Frosty, ' he's come gammonin' 

 down here that he's a great man — full of money, and horses, and so 

 on; but it's all my eye, he's no more a great man than I am t ? " 



