"What?" gasped Christopher, feeling the bottom story of his card house tottering to a fall. "It's like this. I don't mind telling you--much--though I've never told nobody before. When I was a bit of a chap, mother, she used to take me out shopping in the evenings. We went to pokey little shops, but we used to pass a fine, big shop--four glass windows--it has six now--and great lights and mahogany counters and little rails, and balls for change, tiled floor, no sawdust. Every time I saw it I says to myself, 'When I'm a man I'll have a place like that.' I tried to get a job there, but I couldn't--they made too many family inquiries, you see," he added bitterly; "well, if I could get 'prenticed to a place like that ... might be head man some day...." He began whistling with forced indifference, queerly conscious that the whole of his life seemed packed in that little boat--waiting. The boat had drifted into a side eddy. Christopher sat with his head on his hands, wondering with his surface consciousness if the planks at his feet were three or four inches wide, but at last he brushed aside the last card of his demolished palace and recalled his promise to Caesar to leave Sam as free and unbiased in choice as he had been himself. "That would be quite easy to manage," he said with assumed heartiness, "it's--only too easy. Only you must be a partner or something. Oh, oh. A white apron. I'll buy my tea and bacon of you when I've a house of my own!" "All right," grinned Sam. "I'll have great rows of red and gold canisters and--and brass fittings everywhere--not your plated stuff for me--solid brass and marble-topped counters. But it won't come off," he added dejectedly, "things like that never do." "But it will," persisted Christopher impatiently, "just as my going to Dusseldorf is coming off." "You don't get 'prenticed for nothing," was the faithless rejoinder. Christopher joggled the boat and shouted: "You sinner, if you won't take my word for it I'll smash you." "All right--keep cool, I'm only having you on, Chris. Oughtn't we to turn now?" They expended their excitement and emotion in rowing furiously, and landed again at Maidenhead in time for tea. Then Christopher broke the further news to Sam that he was to return with him to Aston House and see Caesar. He overcame with difficulty Sam's reiterated objections, and they walked from Paddington, Christopher keeping a strict guard over Sam lest he should escape.