Mr. Robert Carlaw walked slowly up and down the street with his head sunk upon his breast in profound thought; Comethup paced slowly at his side. After a time the elder man raised his head and thumped his chest, and spoke in a tone of renewed hopefulness. "In a crisis of this kind, my dear nephew, despair is useless; we see before us a certain situation, and that situation has to be faced. In this world we are beings of one of two orders--we are either men or mice. If we are mice we submit to be crushed"--he stamped his heel vigorously on the pavement--"while if we are men we face the situation boldly and rise superior to it. In this case we are men; we refuse to be crushed. For myself I would not care; ever the sport of fortune as I have been, I yet may cut a figure in the world, even though it be a ragged one; 'The Vagabond' has always been my favourite song. But my heart is torn at the thought of others. I dare not return and see them hold out empty hands to me and cry for bread and tell them I have but a stone. My dear boy, it is not to be done; vagabond I may be, but I am still, I trust, a gentleman, and my heart beats true to those of my own flesh and blood. Think, my boy, think of Brian and of his young wife, and then tell me, if you will, that I am to go back to them and bow my head before them and say, 'Behold me; I have failed!'" "But, my dear uncle," exclaimed Comethup in despair, "what am I to do? Show me any way, and I'll adopt it gladly." "My dear nephew," said Mr. Robert Carlaw, with his chin resting meditatively in his hand, "there _is_ a way, and an easy one, for a man in your position. Come, let us face facts: you are your aunt's heir; if she died to-morrow--may Heaven spare her for many years!--you would have every penny she possesses. Such is your good fortune. Now, my dear nephew, it has been my most sorry fate to have to deal on occasion with the shady side of life; I have had, I may say, to get through it as best I could, and in the easiest possible fashion. Your path has been different; you have gone along in the sunshine, with some one else to clear the way for you; hence, you know nothing of these matters. But let me tell you this, my dear boy"--he tapped a persuasive forefinger on Comethup's arm--"that there are men in this city to-day, personally known to me, who would be willing at a moment's notice to advance any sum you might name within reason to a man with your prospects. Don't mistake me," he added hurriedly. "I am not urging that you should do anything dishonourable. Frankly, the thing amounts to this: you go to A. upon my introduction; A. says in effect: 'What! is this Mr. Willis, the favourite nephew of Miss Charlotte Carlaw? And he is in want of money, just to tide him over until such time as he may, in the indefinite future, come into his fortune? Nothing easier,' says A. 'How much does Mr. Willis want?' And there, my boy, the thing's done. Do you follow me?"