to be hung doesn’t mean the least harm when he evinces an abhorrence to the whole clan of schoolmaster trash.  He turns to the old story of doing everything by system; ends by describing his method of drinking a whole jury.  He has surprised Marston, got him on the hip, where he can feather him or sciver him, and where things must be done sly.  Public opinion, he whispers, may set folks moving, and then they’ll all be down upon him like hawks after chickens.  In his mind, the feller what pulls first comes off first best-if the law hounds are not too soon let loose!  If they are, there will be a long drag, a small cage for the flock, and very few birds with feathers on.  Romescos cares for nobody but the judge:  he tells us how the judge and he are right good cronies, and how it’s telling a good many dollars at the end of the year to keep on the best of terms with him, always taking him to drink when they meet.  The judge is a wonderfully clever fellow, in Romescos’ opinion; ranks among first-class drinkers; can do most anything, from hanging a nigger to clearing the fellow that killed the schoolmaster, and said he’d clear a dozen in two two’s, if they’d kill off ever so many of the rubbish.  It is well to make his favour a point of interest.  The company are become tired of this sort of cantation; they have heard enough of high functionaries, know quite enough of judges:—­such things are in their line of business.  Romescos must needs turn the conversation.  “Well, taking it how I can entertain ye to most anything, I’ll give ye a story on the secrets of how I used to run off Ingin remnants of the old tribes.  ’Taint but a few years ago, ye know, when ther was a lot of Ingin and white, mixed stuff-some called it beautiful-down in Beaufort district.  It was temptin’ though, I reckon, and made a feller feel just as if he was runnin’ it off to sell, every time it come in his way.  Ye see, most on’t was gal property, and that kind, ollers keeps the whole district in a hubbub; everybody’s offended, and there’s so much delicacy about the ladies what come in contact with it.  Yes, gentlemen! the ladies-I means the aristocracy’s ladies-hate these copper-coloured Ingins as they would female devils.  It didn’t do to offend the delicacy of our ladies, ye see; so something must be done, but it was all for charity’s sake.  Squire Hornblower and me fixes a plan a’tween us:  it was just the plan to do good for the town-we must always be kind, ye know, and try to do good-and save the dear good ladies a great deal of unnecessary pain.

“Now, the squire had law larnin’, and I had cunnin’; and both put together made the thing work to a point.  The scheme worked so nicely that we put twelve out of fifteen of ’em right into pocket-money in less than three years-”

“Hold a second, Romescos; how did you play the game so adroitly, when they were all members of families living in the town?  You’re a remarkable fellow,” Graspum interposes, stretching his arms, and twisting his sturdy figure over the side of his chair.