"Dis jemplem and his friend, dey stop wid me for one, two week, Major." The Major recovered himself. "Yes, of course; what am I thinking about, Haskins? Mrs. Crosbie told me that you and Macandrew were on a walking tour in Devonshire. Why are you stationary here of all places?" "Why not here, as well as anywhere else?" replied Gerald carelessly, "we struck this inn--Tod and I, that is--and intended only to stop a night or so, but the food is so good, and the fishing so capital, and the expenses so small, that we decided to remain. We're off in a couple of days. Tod goes back to London, and I make for St. Ives to write a new book. But you, Major? What are you doing in this galley?" "I have come down to see a relative at Leegarth--an elderly aunt!" Tod sniggered at the window. From what he knew of Major Rebb--and he knew a great deal from club gossip--that retired officer was not the man to waste his time in looking after elderly relatives, unless,---- "How much money has she got?" asked Tod impudently. Rebb laughed, for Tod was a licensed jester, and said things without reproof for which other men would have been kicked. "Enough to make it worth my while to come down here," said Rebb coolly, "but I won't give the business into your hands, Tod, so there will be no pickings." "I'm jolly well sure of that, when you're about," retorted Macandrew, in a soft voice. "Dis way, sah," cried Geary, like a parrot, "dis way, Major." "You know Adonis then?" said Rebb, entering the inn followed by Haskins; "he's a decent sort, isn't he? I have put up here sometimes for a night. Where's the brandy, Adonis? Hurry up; and give my man a glass of beer." Gerald had unconsciously led the way to the sitting-room occupied by himself and Tod. Here Rebb sat down, drawing off his gloves, while the brandy was brought. He was a tall, thin, upright man, eminently well-bred and somewhat stiff. His closely clipped hair and well-trimmed moustache were so dark, and his complexion was of such a deep olive color, that people declared that he had in him a touch of the tar-brush. And the scandal was emphasized by the significant fact that Major Rebb had commanded a West Indian regiment in Jamaica before retiring from the army. But whether tainted by the African or not, he certainly was a handsome man, and wonderfully well-preserved for his fifty years. Mrs. Crosbie, to whom Rebb had alluded when first addressing Haskins, was a wealthy widow who greatly admired the fascinating Major. Report hinted at a match between them, and report said that Mrs. Crosbie might do worse, for Rebb was well-off and much respected by the outside world. Those--of whom Tod was one--who knew more than the Major approved of declared that Rebb's character was not without blemish, and that he gambled both on the turf and on the green table. But no one could positively say that the man was a rascal. He had the vices of his generation. That was all.