"My dear sir! You don't suppose I came for any such purpose as that! It broke the ice between us. I got my things and made two friends. I want to improve the acquaintance--with your sanction." "To what end?" "To the end of making men of them, Sir Denzil. There are great possibilities there. You must not neglect them, or the responsibility will be yours." "That, I presume, is my affair." "No--excuse me! In the natural course of things those boys will be here when you and I are gone. As their feet are set now, so will they walk then. If you leave them untrained the responsibility for their deeds will be yours. It is no light matter." Sir Denzil extracted a pinch very deliberately and closed the box with a tap on the First Gentleman's snub nose. "And suppose I prefer to let them run wild for the present?" "Then you are not doing your duty by them, and sooner or later it will recoil upon your own head--or house." "Yes; but, as you say, I shall probably not be here, and so I shall not suffer." "Your name--the name of your house will suffer----" Sir Denzil shedded the prospect with a shrug. "Who set you on this business, Mr. Eager?" he asked, with a touch of acidity. "God." "Ah!"--snuffing with extreme deliberation. "Now we approach debatable ground." "No, sir. We stand on the only ground that offers sound footing." "Well, well! I suppose some people still believe such things." "Fortunately, yes. Now about the boys. May I take them in hand?" Sir Denzil regarded him thoughtfully while he shook his snuff box gently and prepared another pinch. "On conditions, possibly yes," he said at last. "And the conditions?" "What have you heard about those boys, Mr. Eager?" "I think I may say everything." "Egad! Then you know more than I do. You have wasted no time. Who told you the story?" "Perhaps you will not press that question, Sir Denzil. Having got interested in the boys I naturally desired to learn what I could about them. It was from no idle curiosity, I assure you." "So you went to Dr. Yool, I suppose. I felt sure he would be at the root of the matter." "I assure you he is not. The root of the matter is simply my desire for those boys. I would like to try my hand at making men of them." "Very welt. You shall try--on this condition. As you are aware, one of them comes of high stock on both sides, the other of low stock on one side. The signs may crop out, must crop out in time. You will have opportunities, such as I have not, of observing them. What I ask of you is to bring all your intelligence and acumen to bear on the solution of my problem--which is which?" "I understand, and I will willingly do my best. But you must remember, Sir Denzil, that there is no infallibility in such indications. The crossing of blue blood with red sometimes produces a richer strain than the blending of two thin blues."