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"
A
colonial
,
"
he
cried
.
"
By
Gad
,
you
're
the
very
man
I
've
been
praying
for
.
Are
you
by
any
blessed
chance
a
Free
Trader
?
"
"
I
am
,
"
said
I
,
without
the
foggiest
notion
of
what
he
meant
.
He
patted
my
shoulder
and
hurried
me
into
his
car
.
Three
minutes
later
we
drew
up
before
a
comfortable-looking
shooting-box
set
among
pine
trees
,
and
he
ushered
me
indoors
.
He
took
me
first
to
a
bedroom
and
flung
half
a
dozen
of
his
suits
before
me
,
for
my
own
had
been
pretty
well
reduced
to
rags
.
I
selected
a
loose
blue
serge
,
which
differed
most
conspicuously
from
my
former
garments
,
and
borrowed
a
linen
collar
.
Then
he
haled
me
to
the
dining-room
,
where
the
remnants
of
a
meal
stood
on
the
table
,
and
announced
that
I
had
just
five
minutes
to
feed
.
"
You
can
take
a
snack
in
your
pocket
,
and
we
'll
have
supper
when
we
get
back
.
I
've
got
to
be
at
the
Masonic
Hall
at
eight
o'clock
,
or
my
agent
will
comb
my
hair
.
"
I
had
a
cup
of
coffee
and
some
cold
ham
,
while
he
yarned
away
on
the
hearthrug
.
"
You
find
me
in
the
deuce
of
a
mess
,
Mr
--
--
;
by-the-by
,
you
have
n't
told
me
your
name
.
Twisdon
?
Any
relation
of
old
Tommy
Twisdon
of
the
Sixtieth
?
No
?
Well
,
you
see
I
'm
Liberal
Candidate
for
this
part
of
the
world
,
and
I
had
a
meeting
on
tonight
at
Brattleburn
--
that
's
my
chief
town
,
and
an
infernal
Tory
stronghold
.
I
had
got
the
Colonial
ex-Premier
fellow
,
Crumpleton
,
coming
to
speak
for
me
tonight
,
and
had
the
thing
tremendously
billed
and
the
whole
place
ground-baited
.
This
afternoon
I
had
a
wire
from
the
ruffian
saying
he
had
got
influenza
at
Blackpool
,
and
here
am
I
left
to
do
the
whole
thing
myself
.
I
had
meant
to
speak
for
ten
minutes
and
must
now
go
on
for
forty
,
and
,
though
I
've
been
racking
my
brains
for
three
hours
to
think
of
something
,
I
simply
can
not
last
the
course
.
Now
you
've
got
to
be
a
good
chap
and
help
me
.
You
're
a
Free
Trader
and
can
tell
our
people
what
a
wash-out
Protection
is
in
the
Colonies
.
All
you
fellows
have
the
gift
of
the
gab
--
I
wish
to
Heaven
I
had
it
.
I
'll
be
for
evermore
in
your
debt
.
"
I
had
very
few
notions
about
Free
Trade
one
way
or
the
other
,
but
I
saw
no
other
chance
to
get
what
I
wanted
.
My
young
gentleman
was
far
too
absorbed
in
his
own
difficulties
to
think
how
odd
it
was
to
ask
a
stranger
who
had
just
missed
death
by
an
ace
and
had
lost
a
1,000-guinea
car
to
address
a
meeting
for
him
on
the
spur
of
the
moment
.
But
my
necessities
did
not
allow
me
to
contemplate
oddnesses
or
to
pick
and
choose
my
supports
.
"
All
right
,
"
I
said
.
"
I
'm
not
much
good
as
a
speaker
,
but
I
'll
tell
them
a
bit
about
Australia
.
"
At
my
words
the
cares
of
the
ages
slipped
from
his
shoulders
,
and
he
was
rapturous
in
his
thanks
.
He
lent
me
a
big
driving
coat
--
and
never
troubled
to
ask
why
I
had
started
on
a
motor
tour
without
possessing
an
ulster
--
and
,
as
we
slipped
down
the
dusty
roads
,
poured
into
my
ears
the
simple
facts
of
his
history
.
He
was
an
orphan
,
and
his
uncle
had
brought
him
up
--
I
've
forgotten
the
uncle
's
name
,
but
he
was
in
the
Cabinet
,
and
you
can
read
his
speeches
in
the
papers
.
He
had
gone
round
the
world
after
leaving
Cambridge
,
and
then
,
being
short
of
a
job
,
his
uncle
had
advised
politics
.
I
gathered
that
he
had
no
preference
in
parties
.
"
Good
chaps
in
both
,
"
he
said
cheerfully
,
"
and
plenty
of
blighters
,
too
.
I
'm
Liberal
,
because
my
family
have
always
been
Whigs
.
