“Yes, he will, and I will tell you why.  If we permit you to be Higgs the Sunchild, he must either throw his own father into the Blue Pool—­which he will not do—­or run great risk of being thrown into it himself, for not having Blue-Pooled a foreigner.  I am afraid we shall have to make you do a good deal that neither you nor we shall like.”

She then told him briefly of what had passed after luncheon at her house, and what it had been settled to do, leaving George to tell the details while escorting him towards the statues on the following evening.  She said that every one would be so completely in every one else’s power that there was no fear of any one’s turning traitor.  But she said nothing about George’s intention of setting out for the capital on Wednesday morning to tell the whole story to the King.

“Now,” she said, when she had told him as much as was necessary, “be good, and do as you said you would.”

“I will.  I will deny myself, not once, nor twice, but as often as is necessary.  I will kiss the reliquary, and when I meet Hanky and Panky at your table, I will be sworn brother to them—­so long, that is, as George is out of hearing; for I cannot lie well to them when he is listening.”

“Oh yes, you can.  He will understand all about it; he enjoys falsehood as well as we all do, and has the nicest sense of when to lie and when not to do so.”

“What gift can be more invaluable?”

My father, knowing that he might not have another chance of seeing Yram alone, now changed the conversation.

“I have something,” he said, “for George, but he must know nothing about it till after I am gone.”

As he spoke, he took from his pockets the nine small bags of nuggets that remained to him.

“But this,” said Yram, “being gold, is a large sum:  can you indeed spare it, and do you really wish George to have it all?”

“I shall be very unhappy if he does not, but he must know nothing about it till I am out of Erewhon.”

My father then explained to her that he was now very rich, and would have brought ten times as much, if he had known of George’s existence.  “Then,” said Yram, musing, “if you are rich, I accept and thank you heartily on his behalf.  I can see a reason for his not knowing what you are giving him at present, but it is too long to tell.”

The reason was, that if George knew of this gold before he saw the King, he would be sure to tell him of it, and the King might claim it, for George would never explain that it was a gift from father to son; whereas if the King had once pardoned him, he would not be so squeamish as to open up the whole thing again with a postscript to his confession.  But of this she said not a word.

My father then told her of the box of sovereigns that he had left in his saddle-bags.  “They are coined,” he said, “and George will have to melt them down, but he will find some way of doing this.  They will be worth rather more than these nine bags of nuggets.”