"I have behaved shamefully to you both," he said one time, "and still worse to one of you. And I have nothing to plead in extenuation except that I did as my fellows in those days did--which is a very poor excuse, I confess. I must make such compensation as I can. One of you will have to become Carron of Carrie, and the other M. le Compte de Carne--maybe M. le Duc by that time. There's no knowing." "There's the Quixande matter too," said Jack thoughtfully. "An empty title, I fear, by this time. And the Carrons were of note ages before the Quixandes were heard of. You seem to have got on very good terms with Deseret"--to Jim. "He was very good to me, sir. I don't know why, unless it was because of his old friendship with you. He always spoke very handsomely of you." "He was always a good fellow, but a terrible gambler. And yet I don't think he suffered on the whole. He was so confoundedly rich that it made no difference to him in any way. I have seen him win and lose £10,000 in a night at Crockford's, without turning a hair." "I saw him win somewhere about that at a house in St. James's Street and----" "And how much did you lose?" "Nothing, sir; I was only looking on. Charlie Denham took me there--just to see it, you know. When Lord Deseret heard my name he came up and spoke to me. He asked me to call on him, and scribbled his address on the back of a bank-note, and gave it to me, and insisted on my keeping it." "Just like him!" "Then the police came and we had to get out over the roofs----" "I would dearly have liked to see Deseret getting out over the roofs," laughed the Colonel. "He seemed quite used to it, sir." "I haven't a doubt of it. And he never suggested you should play?" "On the contrary, he never ceased to warn me against it. So did Mme Beteta----" "Mme Beteta!" And the Colonel's cigar hung fire in midair, and he sat staring at Jim as if he had called up a ghost. "The dancer, you know. She has been awfully kind to me. Did you know her too, sir?" asked innocent Jim. "How did you come to make _her_ acquaintance?" asked his father, with quite a change of tone, and an intentness that struck even Jim. "We had gone to see her dance----" "Both of you?" "Charlie Denham and I. And Lord Deseret saw us and sent for us to his box, and at the interval he offered to take us round." "Deseret?" And he said something under his breath in French which they did not catch. "Well--and how did she receive you?" "She was very pleasant. She asked me to call and see her, and I've been several times." The Colonel resumed his cigar and smoked in silence for some time, with his eyes fixed meditatively on a distant corner. Then, he seemed to make up his mind. He blew out a great cloud of smoke and said very deliberately: