462 THE COACHING AGE. 



(as I thought I might as well sit there as wander 

 about in the road), he still was evidently unconvinced 

 as to my wishing to know about the road and 

 things connected with it solely as a matter of interest, 

 and he continually kept letting fly at me with ' But 

 why did I want to know?' 'What was it fori' etc. 

 My most positive assurances as to the plain and 

 simple object I had in view utterly failed to satisfy 

 him, as appeared when, after our long chat, he wound 

 up, much to my amusement, with this observation : 



' Well, but how do I know ? perhaps you might be' 

 one of those inquiry men.' 



I was so struck with the observation that I have 

 never forgotten it, but have often regretted since 

 that I did not ask what he meant by the expression 

 ' inquiry men,' as I have not the slightest notion, 

 and can only suppose that it must have referred 

 to persons who had perhaps been making inquiries in 

 the place for the purpose of some railway undertaking. 



Although I failed in increasing my stock of infor- 

 mation, I passed away an hour, more agreeably than 

 by hanging about in the village. My companion 

 was very civil, and by no means an unfavourable 

 specimen of the ninth part of a man. 



Intimating that he had probably found it rather 

 dry work talking so long, I adopted the course usual 

 on such occasions, and we parted on the best terms. 



