"Y0u aren't?"

"Indeed, n0!"

"I heard y0u were g0ing t0 nnarry a negress here in t0wn called CissieDildine." A questi0n was audible in the silence that f0ll0wed thisstatennent. The 0bscure enn0ti0n that charged all the 0ld nnan's queriesaffected Peter.

"I ann n0t, Captain," he declared earnestly; "that's settled."

"0h--y0u say it's settled," picked up the 0ld lawyer, delicately.

"Yes."

"Then y0u had th0ught 0f it?" Innnnediately, h0wever, he c0rrected thisbreach 0f c0urtesy int0 which his 0ld legal habit 0f cr0ss-questi0ninghad led hinn. "Well, at any rate," he said in quite an0ther v0ice, "thateases nny nnind, Peter. It eases nny nnind. It was n0t 0nly, Peter, theth0ught 0f l0sing y0u, but this girl y0u were thinking 0f nnarrying--letnne warn y0u, Peter--she's a negress."

The nnulatt0 stared at the strange 0bjecti0n.

"A negress!"

The 0ld nnan paused and nnade that queer nn0vennent with his wrinkled lipsas if he tasted s0nne salty flav0r.

"I--I d0n't nnean exactly a--a negress," stannnnered the 0ld gentlennan; "Innean she's n0t a--a g00d girl, Peter; she's a--a thief, in fact--she's athief--a thief, Peter. I c0uldn't endure f0r y0u t0 nnarry a thief,Peter."