Pipette came round and sat on the arm of Pip's chair with the air of one who wishes to argue the point, and Pip continued hurriedly,-- "We talked it over with her this afternoon, Ham, and she agreed with me that for the present it will be best for her to accept the Rossiters' invitation to join them on their visit to Spain and Algiers, which is to last about a year. Pipette will be able to pay her full share of the expenses, so she won't be dependent on anybody. At the same time she will be having a good time with really nice people instead of--instead of--" "Instead of sitting all day in a two-pair-back in London?" said Hanbury. "That's it, exactly," said Pip, grateful for this moral support. "Of course it would be ripping".--Pipette was beginning to shake, and he put his arm clumsily round her--"it would be ripping to have remained together, but it can't be done at present. In a year, perhaps. The old lady has been very sensible about it." Apparently being "sensible" did not include abstinence from tears, for Pipette was now weeping softly. She had lost her father only a week, and now she was to lose her beloved brother. Hanbury, who, like most strong men, was helpless against feminine tears, coughed self-consciously. "It sounds a good arrangement," he said. "I suppose it is quite impossible for you two to live together? With the hundred and fifty, and what you could make yourself, Pip--" "How am I going to make it?" inquired Pip. "What are your prospects?" "What are my accomplishments? I am just twenty-five; I am sound in wind and limb; and I sometimes take wickets. Can you suggest anything else?" "Yes; you possess a stout heart and a hard head." "If by hard you mean thick, I do," agreed Pip dismally. "Thick heads have their market like everything else. Where are you going to take yours?" "Where would you suggest? I have my own ideas on the subject, of course, but I should like to hear yours, Ham." Hanbury looked across at him quizzically. "My young friend," he said, with a flash of his old pedagogic manner, "long experience of your character warns me that you have determined on some crack-brained scheme, and are now prepared to defend it against all comers. Proceed." Pip grinned. "As you like," he said. "But I think a discussion would clear the air. Here goes! Pipette is appointed chairman. The subject for debate is 'The Choice of a Career for a Young Man without Education, Ability, or Prospects.' Fire away, Ham, and bear in mind that all the learned professions are barred to me." "I'm not sure of that. How about school-mastering?" "At a Preparatory?" "Yes." "Do you recommend the billet?" "Frankly--no. Preparatory work is all right provided that you don't mind a berth in which your real work only begins at playtime, and which, unless you can afford ultimately to set up for yourself, offers you an absolutely maximum screw of about two hundred a year."