For a long time no one spoke. It was Lord Dunseverick who broke the silence in the end. He took his cigarette-case from his pocket. “You may say what you like about tobacco, McMunn,” he said, “but it’s a comfort to a man when he has no company but a bear with a sore head.” “Ay,” said McMunn, “you’ll smoke and you’ll smoke, but you’ll no make me any easier in my mind by smoking.” Ginty drew a plug of black tobacco from his pocket, and began cutting shreds from it with a clasp knife. He was apparently of opinion that smoking would relieve the strain on _his_ mind. “I’m no satisfied,” said McMunn. “I don’t see what you have to grumble about,” said Lord Dunseverick. “We’ve got what we came for, and we’ve got our clearance papers. What more do you want? You expected trouble about those papers, and there wasn’t any. You ought to be pleased.” “There you have it,” said McMunn. “According to all the laws of nature there ought to have been trouble. With a cargo like ours there ought to have been a lot of trouble. Instead of that the papers are handed over to us without a question.” “It’s peculiar,” said Ginty. “It’s very peculiar, and that’s a fact.” “Then there’s the matter of those extra cases,” said McMunn. “How many cases is there in the hold, Ginty?” “A hundred, seventy-two.” “And the contract was for one-fifty. What’s in the odd twenty-two? Tell me that.” “Pianos,” said Lord Dunseverick. “Look at your clearance papers. ‘Nature of Cargo--Pianos.’” “You’d have your joke,” said McMunn, “if the flames of hell were scorching the soles of your boots.” “It’s peculiar,” said Ginty. “It’s more than peculiar,” said McMunn. “I’ve been in business for thirty years, and it’s the first time I ever had goods given me that I didn’t ask for.” “Well,” said Lord Dunseverick, “if we’ve got an extra five hundred rifles we can’t complain. There’s plenty of men in Ulster ready to use them.” “Maybe you’ll tell me,” said McMunn, “why they wouldn’t let me pay for the goods in the office this afternoon. Did anyone ever hear the like of that--a man refusing money that was due to him, and it offered?” “It’s out of the course of nature,” said Ginty. “They told you,” said Lord Dunseverick, “that you could pay Von Edelstein, and he’d give you a receipt.” “Ay, Von Edelstein. And where’s Von Edelstein?” “He’s coming on board this evening,” said Lord Dunseverick. “But you needn’t wait for him unless you like. We’ve got steam up. Why not slip away?” “Because it’s no my way of doing business,” said McMunn, “to slip away, as you call it, without paying for what I’ve got. I’m a man of principle.” “Talking of your principles,” said Lord Dunseverick, “what did you bring on board in that basket this afternoon? It looked to me like beer.” “It was beer.” “I’m glad to hear it,” said Lord Dunseverick. “Let’s have a couple of bottles.” Ginty took his pipe from his mouth and grinned pleasantly. He wanted beer.