Captain Quinn looked at him with a surprise that was perfectly genuine. He doubted if he could have heard correctly. ‘What did you say?’ ‘I said,’ repeated Hyacinth, ‘you are an infernal blackguard!’ ‘Did you really suppose that I would be going on this fool of an expedition if I wasn’t?’ ‘I shall tell Miss Goold the story you have just told me. I shall tell her to-morrow morning before the boat sails.’ ‘Very well,’ said the Captain; ‘but don’t suppose for a moment that you’ll shock Finola. She doesn’t know this particular story about me, but I expect she knows another every bit as bad, and I dare say she will regard the whole thing as a justifiable spoiling of the Egyptians. By the way ‘--there was a note of anxiety in his voice--‘I hope you won’t find it necessary to repeat anything I’ve said about the lady herself. _That_ might irritate her.’ ‘Is it likely,’ said Hyacinth, ‘that I would repeat that kind of talk to any woman?’ ‘Quite so. I admire your attitude. Such things are entirely unfit for repetition. But seriously, now, what on earth do you expect to happen when you tell her? I’m perfectly certain that every single volunteer she’s got is just as great a blackguard--your word, my dear fellow--as I am, and Finola knows it perfectly well.’ Hyacinth hesitated. The phrase in Miss Goold’s letter in which she had originally described her men as blackguards recurred to his mind. He remembered the story of Doherty. His anger began to give way to a sick feeling of disgust. ‘Think, now,’ said the Captain: ‘is it likely that you could enlist a corps of Sunday-school teachers for this kind of work? I’ll give you credit for the highest motives, though I’m blest if I understand them; but how can you suppose that there is anyone else in the whole world that feels the way you feel or wants to act as you are doing?’ ‘I dare say you are right,’ said Hyacinth feebly. ‘Of course I’m right--perfectly right.’ Hyacinth tried to lift his glass of whisky-and-water to his lips, but his hand trembled, and he was obliged to put it down. Captain Quinn watched him wipe the spilt liquid off his hand, and then settle down in his chair with his head bowed and his eyes half shut. ‘Sit up, man,’ he said. ‘It’s all right. You’ve done nothing to be ashamed of, at all events. But look here, you ought not to come with us at all. It’s no job for a man like you. You back out of it. Don’t turn up to-morrow morning. I’ll explain to Finola if she’s there, and if not I’ll write her a letter that will set you straight with her. I’m really sorry for you, Conneally.’ Hyacinth looked up at him. ‘I’m sorry I called you a blackguard,’ he said. ‘You’re not any worse than everyone else in the world.’