“Twenty port won’t come to him when he is as old as we are,” said the earl, forgetting that by that time sixty port will be as wonderful to the then living seniors of the age as was his own pet vintage to him.

The good wine did in some sort soften the squire; but, as a matter of course, nothing further was said as to the new matrimonial scheme.  The earl did observe, however, that Mr Dale was civil, and even kind, to his own young friend, asking a question here and there as to his life in London, and saying something about the work at the Income-tax Office.

“It is hard work,” said Eames.  “If you’re under the line, they make a great row about it, send for you, and look at you as though you’d been robbing the bank; but they think nothing of keeping you till five.”

“But how long do you have for lunch and reading the papers?” said the earl.

“Not ten minutes.  We take a paper among twenty of us for half the day.  That’s exactly nine minutes to each; and as for lunch, we only have a biscuit dipped in ink.”

“Dipped in ink!” said the squire.

“It comes to that, for you have to be writing while you munch it.”

“I hear all about you,” said the earl; “Sir Raffle Buffle is an old crony of mine.”

“I don’t suppose he ever heard my name as yet,” said Johnny.  “But do you really know him well, Lord De Guest?”

“Haven’t seen him these thirty years; but I did know him.”

“We call him old Huffle Scuffle.”

“Huffle Scuffle!  Ha, ha, ha!  He always was Huffle Scuffle; a noisy, pretentious, empty-headed fellow.  But I oughtn’t to say so before you, young man.  Come, we’ll go into the drawing-room.”

“And what did he say?” asked Lady Julia, as soon as the squire was gone.

There was no attempt at concealment, and the question was asked in Johnny’s presence.

“Well, he did not say much.  And coming from him, that ought to be taken as a good sign.  He is to think of it, and let me see him again.  You hold your head up, Johnny, and remember that you shan’t want a friend on your side.  Faint heart never won fair lady.”

At seven o’clock on the following morning Eames started on his return journey, and was at his desk at twelve o’clock, as per agreement with his taskmaster at the Income-tax Office.

CHAPTER XXXIV

The Combat

I have said that John Eames was at his office punctually at twelve; but an incident had happened before his arrival there very important in the annals which are now being told,—­so important that it is essentially necessary that it should be described with some minuteness of detail.