"I should like to meet Tuppy," said Alicia calmly, "whilst you are giving him a l—whilst you are rendering him the necessary assistance I will find the ladder." Tuppy scrambling over the wall met the scrutiny of a pair of grey eyes, and balanced himself with difficulty. When I say he wore his oldest suit, that he had pale green socks and a pair of old slippers, and that owing to his exertions his trouser leg was rucked up to display his sock-suspenders, you will realize that but for his noble breeding Tuppy would have been embarrassed, and would have made a precipitate and undignified retreat. But Tuppy was above all things self-possessed. He paused astride the wall. "Let me introduce Lord Tupping," said the Duke gravely. Tuppy held on to the wall with one hand and raised his cap with the other. "Delighted," he said politely. Alicia averted her eyes from the pale green socks with the scarlet suspenders and addressed him at a tangent. "Mother will be glad to see Lord Tupping," she said to the Duke. Somehow she did not consider it quite maidenly to speak direct to the suspenders. "Mother will be glad to see you," repeated the Duke primly. "And I," said Tuppy gracefully, "shall consider it an honour to wait upon your lady mother: it would seem to me that no greater obligation—and it is typical of the blightin’ decadence of our language that a word meanin’ ’a sympathetic bindin’’ should be degraded to the sordid service of bills at three months—than the respect an’ reverence due to the maternal element in our midst. The spirit of chivalry——" At this point in the labour of his oratory Tupping lost his balance and fell into the Duke’s arms. He would have continued his speech but for the arrival of the Duke’s discreet servant. "Yes?" said the Duke inquiringly. "Two gentlemen to see you, m’lord." "Two—who are they." "I don’t know, m’lord—they asked for your lordship——" "Yes?" "One I thought smelt of drink, and the other was a little furtive." Tuppy laid his hand upon the Duke’s arm. "Monty, dear boy," he said solemnly, "I know ’em." "You." "Me," said Tuppy wagging his head wisely, "One smellin’ of drink an’ the other sneakin’ round the corner—brokers." *Part IV* *THE DUKE REMAINS* *I* If I have unwittingly conveyed an impression that Brockley is without interest to the outside world I have done its credit and myself much wrong, as the talented Omar might have said. I quote Omar instinctively because of Brockley’s association with the tent-maker of Ispahan. For Brockley for many years has been the Mecca of Southern London. Never a Sunday passed but little caravans of purposeful pilgrims have converged upon the _Brockley Jack Arms_, and producing their railway tickets or other evidence of their bona fides, have drunk beer during prohibited hours.