So the game had gone merrily on until Comethup had grown quite used to it, and was only glad that he could keep the thing so successfully from his aunt's knowledge. During those years Brian had not been altogether idle; he had produced two slim books of verse, which had found considerable favour with a certain section of the public, and which had got him pretty considerably talked about, if no more. He declared to Comethup that from a monetary standpoint the things were valueless; that they brought him fame, but that he had discovered that a year or two must elapse before he could really hope to live by his work. "Unless," he added, "I make a sudden hit; that, of course, would make a difference--would fling me to the top of the tree at a bound. Then, old fellow, my first duty would be to repay every penny--oh, I've made a careful calculation, and have got it all jotted down somewhere--every penny I owe you. As a matter of fact, I may see something to-morrow which will give me just the right thought--may write the thing red hot, as it were--and make my fortune. And you'll have the satisfaction, dear old boy, of knowing that--indirectly, of course--you've brought it about." But, although the books were produced, and although they were well spoken of, and although Brian paid one or two flying visits to London "to stir up the publishers," as he expressed it, it all seemed to make no difference to the position of affairs so far as Comethup was concerned, and that position remained unaltered. It practically amounted to this: that Comethup was certain that within a given time one of them or both would smilingly or tearfully appear in a strange city without funds and dependent on his bounty. Under those circumstances it became, of course, impossible to turn a deaf ear to their entreaties, and they had to be relieved. Comethup gained a reputation for reckless extravagance that he did not in the least deserve. Personally, Miss Charlotte Carlaw was not displeased, although she was sometimes puzzled to understand how he spent his money, but she adhered to her principle and trusted him absolutely, never questioning him upon anything about which he seemed disinclined to speak. She had had her dearest wish realized in gaining the love of this boy; he was devoted to her, and had been more than a mere companion; he had been, as she had once suggested, eyes to her--had made her darkened journey something so full of colour and brightness that it became under his young influence more wonderful than any journey she had ever taken before.