"O, you are, eh?" said Lloyd with a sneer; "I should scarcely have thought it." "Yes," replied Foxey, in perfect good faith, "I am thoroughly. What I long for is to get back to England, to see my old pals, to lead my old life." "Indeed," sneered Gilbert again; "but from what I understand from you there would be some difficulty in carrying out that pleasant little arrangement." "None that you couldn't help me to settle at once. They all think their money's clean gone; but if I'm to come on the turf again, it would never do for me to come out as a welsher, so I must pay 'em something; but ever so little would square it. Then, if I just had a little trifle in hand to start with, and you gave me the office when you knew of a good thing--and you must hear lots, havin' the management of that young swell's stable--well, I should do as right as ninepence." There was a minute's pause, and then Lloyd said: "You are a great creature, Mr. Walker, a very great creature, and your power of sketching out a happy future is something wonderful. But to my great astonishment I find that I play a part in this notable scheme of your life, and that its being carried out successfully wholly depends upon me. Now, we may as well understand each other clearly, and at once. From me you'll never get another sixpence." Foxey started, looked hard at his companion, and said, "You mean that?" "No," said Lloyd, "I don't mean it literally; I'll give you another ten pounds on the day I leave this place." It was Foxey's turn to sneer now. "That's generous of you," he said, "regular generous; but you always were a free-handed fellow with your money, Lloyd. I reck'lect we used to say in the old days how pleased you always were to have to part. Now look here," he cried, changing his tone; "I will have all I've asked from you: the money to square it with those fellows, the sum to start fresh with the straight tips from young Ticehurst's stable; I'll have this, or else--" "Or what else?" asked Gilbert Lloyd, without any alteration in his usual calm manner. "Or else I'll ruin you, root and branch; horse and foot; stock, lock, and barrel! You laugh and sneer; you think I can't do it? I tell you I can." "You tell me a pack of lies and blather. You begun last night, and you've done nothing else for the last half-hour. How can you do it?" "By blowing the gaff on you; by telling something I know which would make all these swells cut you and hunt you out of society; which would--"