“Oh, I quite understand the obligations of bread and salt; but you are beyond the pale of that. You are a noxious beast who ought to be stamped out. Still you can be useful to me; so I shall hire myself out to be useful to you. But I have brought these unpleasant facts under your notice, to let you thoroughly understand that I have summed you up from horns to hoofs, and to point out to you that I wouldn’t give a piastre for your most sacred word of honor. We shall be bound to one another in this precious scheme by community of interests alone; and if you can swindle me, you may. Only look out for the consequences if you do try it on. I never yet left a score unpaid. We’re _Arcades ambo_—rascals both; only we’re different varieties of rascal. I know you pretty thoroughly; and if you don’t know me as well, possibly you will before we’ve done with one another. And now, if it please you, we’ll go into the minuter details of this piece of villainy, and sketch out definitely how we are to steal this half a million in specie, and this valuable steamer, without committing more murder than is absolutely essential to success.” CHAPTER VI. THE TEMPTING OF CAPTAIN OWEN KETTLE. “If one might judge from the lacquered majesty of your office appointments,” said Patrick Onslow, taking one of the big chairs in Shelf’s inner sanctum, “your firm is doing a roaring fine business.” Mr. Theodore Shelf seated himself before his desk and began sorting out some papers. “The turnover,” he said evasively, “is enormous. Our operations are most extensive.” “Extensive and peculiar,” commented Onslow. “But I regret to say that during the last eighteen months the firm’s profits have seriously decreased, and the scope of its operations been much hampered. I take credit to myself that this diminution could have been prevented by no action on my part. It is entirely the outcome of the times, and the lazy greed of the working classes, fomented by the frothings of paid agitators. The series of strikes which we have had to contend against is unprecedented.” “Is it? Well, I don’t know. There have been labor bothers all down through history, and I fancy they’ll continue to the end of time. If you’ll recollect, there was a certain Egyptian king who once had troubles with his bricklayers, and I fancy there have been similar difficulties trotting through the centuries in pretty quick succession ever since. Of course, each man thinks his own employés the most unreasonable and grasping that have ever uttered opinion since the record began; that’s only natural. But I might point out to you that in definite results you aren’t in the worst box yet. Your chariot hasn’t been upset in the Red Sea so far, and it may be that a certain operation in the Mexican Gulf will grease up the wheels and set it running on triumphantly. Grumble if you like, Mr. Shelf, but don’t make yourself out to be the worst-used man in history. Pharaoh hadn’t half your opportunities.”