“Andnow，lookhere。Likelyyouwillwantalittlemoneytillyousquareupthingswithyourtrusteepeoplethatthemasterhatessomuch。“
“Well，Ihadforgottenit，but，asamatteroffact，Ihaveonlytenshillingsleft，andthatisn’tmuchwhenoneisgoingtoLondon，“
confessedGodfrey。
“Ithoughtso；youneverwereonetothinkmuchofsuchthings，andsoit’sprobablethatyou’llgetplentyofthem，forit’swhatwecareaboutwearestarvedin，justtomakeithotforuspoorhumans。Takeyourfather，forinstance；helovespower，hedoes；he’dliketobeabishopoftheoldRomansortwhatcouldtorturepeoplewhodidn’tagreewiththem。Andwhatishe？Theparsonofapottyparishofacoupleofhundredpeople，countingthebabiesandthesofties，andhalfofthemDissentersorSalvationArmy。Moreover，theycan’tbebullied，becauseiftheywerethey’djustwalkintothenextchapeldoor。Ofcourse，there’stheyounggentlemen，andhetakesitoutofthem，but，Lordblessus!that’slikekickingawoolsack，ofwhichanymanofspiritsoongetstired。So，yousee，heissick-hearted，andwillbemoresonowthatyouhavestooduptohim；and，inthiswayorthat，it’sthesamewitheveryone，noneofusgetswhatwewant，whileofwhatwedon’twantthere’salwaysplenty。“
Whiletheoldladyheldforththusinherlittleroomwhich，althoughshedidnotknowit，hadoncebeenthepenitentialcelloftheAbbey，whereinforhundredsofyearsmanyunhappyoneshadreflectedinaverysimilarvein，shewasengagedintryingkeyafterkeyuponastoutoakchest。Itwaspartoftheancientfurnitureoftheplace，thatindeedinformerdayshadservedasthereceptacleforhairshirts，scourgesandotherphysicalinducementstorepentanceandpiety。
NowithadadifferentpurposeandheldMrs。Parsons’bestdresses，also，inabandbox，anornamentpreservedfromherwedding-cake，foronceinthefarpastshewasmarriedtoasailor，averygreatblack-
guard，whocametohisendbytumblingfromagangwaywhenhewasdrunk。Amongthesearticleswasatintea-canisterwhich，whenopened，provedtobefullofmoney；gold，silverandevenhumblecopper，tosaynothingofseveralbanknotes。
“Now，thereyouare，mydear，takewhatyoulike，“shesaid，“andpayitbackifyouwish，butifyoudon’t，itmighthavebeenworsespent。“Andshepushedthereceptacle，labelled“ImperialPekoe，“
towardshimacrossthetable，adding，“Dratthosemoths!There’sanotheronmybestsilk。“
Godfreyburstoutlaughingandenjoyedthatlaugh，foritwashisfirsthappymomentsincehisreturntoEngland。
“Givemewhatyoulike，“hesaid。
Sosheextractedfromthetea-tinafive-poundnote，foursovereignsandapound’sworthofsilverandcopper。
“There，“shesaid，“thatwilldotobeginwith，fortoomuchmoneyinthepocketisatemptationinawickedplacelikeLondon，wherethere’salwayssomeonewaitingtoshareit。Ifit’swantedthere’smorewherethatcamefrom，andyou’veonlytowriteandsayso。Andnowyouhavegottheaddressandyou’vegotthecash，andifyouwanttocatchthatlasttrainit’stimeyouwereoff。IfItookthesameto-morrownight，why，itwouldn’tsurpriseme，especiallyasIwanttohearallyou’vebeena-doinginthoseforeignparts，tumblingoverprecipicesandtherest。Sogood-bye，mydear，andGodblessyou。
Lord!itseemsonlytheotherdaythatIwasgivingyouyourbottle。“
Thentheykissedeachotherand，havingretrievedhisalpenstockfromthestick-house，Godfreytrudgedbacktothestation，wherehepickeduphisluggageanddepartedforLondon。ArrivingatLiverpoolStreetratherlate，hewenttotheGreatEasternHotel，andafteragoodmeal，whichheneeded，sleptlikeatop。HisreceptioninEnglandhadbeenbitter，buttheyoungsoonshakeofftheirtroubles，fromwhich，indeed，thelovingkindnessofhisdearoldnursealreadyhadextractedthesting。
Onthefollowingmorning，whilebreakfastingatalittletablebyoneofthepillarsofthebigdining-room，hebegantowonderwhatheshoulddonext。Inhispockethehadanotebook，inwhich，atthesuggestionofthePasteur，hehadsetdowntheaddressofthelawyerswhohadwrittentohimabouthislegacy。ItwasinaplacecalledthePoultry，which，oninquiryfromthehall-porter，hediscoveredwasquiteclosebytheMansionHouse。
Soawhilelater，fortheportertoldhimthatitwasnousetogotoseelawyerstooearly，hesalliedforth，andaftermuchsearchdiscoveredthequeerspotcalledthePoultry，alsotheofficesofMessrs。Ranson，RichardsandSon。Herehegavehisnametoaclerk，whothrustaveryoilyheadoutofakindofmahoganybox，andwastoldthatMr。Ransonwasengaged，butthat，ifhecaredtowait，perhapshewouldseehimlateron。Hesaidhewouldwait，andwasshownintoastuffylittleroom，furnishedwithancientdeed-boxesandaverylarge，oldleather-coveredsofathattookuphalftheplace。
Herehesatforawhile，staringatasquareofdirtyglasswhichgavewhatlightwasavailable，andreflectinguponthingsingeneral。
Whilehewasthusengagedheheardakindoftumultoutside，inwhichherecognisedthetrebleoftheoily-headedclerkcominginabadsecondtoadeep，bassvoice。Thenthedooropenedandabig，burlyman，witharedfaceandajovial，rollingeye，appearedwithstartlingsuddennessandejaculated：
“DamnRanson，damnRichards，ordamnthemboth，withtheSonthrownin!Iaskyou，youngman“——hereheaddressedGodfreyseatedonthecornerofthesofa——“whatistheuseofafirmoflawyerswhomyoucanneversee？Youpaythebrutes，butthreetimesoutoffourtheyarenotvisible，or，asIsuspect，pretendnottobe，inordertoenhancetheirownimportance。AndIsentthematelegram，too，havingatraintocatch。Whatdoyouthink？“
“Idon’tknow，Sir，“Godfreyanswered。“Inevercametoalawyer’sofficebefore，andIhopeIshan’tagainifthisisthekindofroomtheyputoneinto。“
“Room!“ejaculatedtheirategentleman，“callitadogkennel，callitacesspool，for，byheaven，itsmellslikeone，butintheinterestsoftruth，youngman，don’tcallitaroom。“
“Nowthatyoumentionit，thereisaqueerodour。Perhapsadeadratunderthefloor，“suggestedGodfrey。
“Twentydeadrats，probably，sinceIimaginethatthisholehasnotbeencleanedsincethetimeofGeorgeII。Wearemartyrsinthisworld，Sir。IcomeheretoattendtotheaffairsofsomewhippersnapperwhomIneversawandneverwanttosee，justbecauseHelenOgilvy，whowasmyfirstcousin，choosestomakemeatrusteeofherconfoundedwill，inwhichsheleavesmoneytotheconfoundedwhippersnapper，Godknowswhy。Thiswhippersnapperhasafather，aparson，whocanwritethemostoffensivelettersimaginable。I
receivedoneofthemthismorning，accusingthewhippersnapperofallsortsofvaguethings，andmeandmyfellowtrustee，whoisatpresentenjoyinghimselftravelling，ofabettinghim。Irepeat，damnRanson，RichardsandSon；damntheparson，damnHelen——no，Iwon’tsaythat，forsheisdead——andespeciallydamnthewhippersnapper。Don’tyouagreewithme？“
“Notquite，Sir，“saidGodfrey。“Idon’tmindaboutRanson，RichardsandSon，oranybodyelse，butIdon’tquiteseewhyyoushoulddamnme，who，Iamsure，neverwishedtogiveyouanytrouble。“
“You!AndwhotheHadesmayyoube？“
“IamGodfreyKnight，andIsupposethatyouaremytrustee，oroneofthem。“
“GodfreyKnight，theyoungmanwhosefathergivesussomuchtrouble，allatourownexpense，Imayremark。Well，afterhearingsomuchofyouonpaper，I’mdeucedgladtomeetyouintheflesh。Comeintothelight，ifyoucancallitlight，andletmehavealookatyou。“
Godfreysteppedbeneaththedirtypaneandwascontemplatedthroughaneyeglassbythisbreezyoldgentleman，whoexclaimedpresently：
“You’reallright，Ithink；afinefigureofayoungman，notbadlooking，either，butyouwantdrilling。Whythedevildon’tyougointothearmy？“
“Idon’tknow，“answeredGodfrey，“neverthoughtofit。Areyouinthearmy，Sir？“
“No，notnow，thoughIwas。Commandedmyregimentforfiveyears，andthenkickedoutwiththecourtesytitleofMajor-General。Cubitteismyname，speltwithtwo’t’s’andan’e，’please，anddon’tyouforgetthat，sincethat’e’hasbeenapointofhonourwithourfamilyforahundredyears，theLordknowswhy。Well，thereweare。Doyousmoke？“
“Onlyapipe，“saidGodfrey。
“That’sright；Ihatethoseaccursedcigarettes，stilltheyarebetterthannothing。Nowsitdownandtellmeallaboutyourself。“
Godfreyobeyed，andsomehowfeelingateasewiththischolericoldGeneral，inthecourseofthenexttwentyminutesexplainedmanythingstohim，includingthecauseofhisappearanceinthatoffice。
“Soyoudon’twanttobeaparson，“saidtheGeneral，“andwithyourfather’sexamplebeforeyoureyes，IamsureIdon’twonder。However，youareindependentofhimmoreorless，andhadbettercutoutalineforyourself。Wewillbackyou。Whatdoyousaytothearmy？“
“IthinkIshouldratherlikethat，“answeredGodfrey。“Only，only，I
wanttogetoutofEnglandassoonaspossible。“
“Andquiteright，too——accursedhole，fulloffogandpoliticians。Butthat’snotdifficultwithIndiawaitingforyou。I’manIndiancavalryofficermyself，andcouldputyouuptotheropesandgiveyouahandafterwards，perhaps，ifyoushowyourselfoftherightstuff，asI
thinkyouwill。But，ofcourse，youwillhavetogotoSandhurst，passanentranceexamination，andsoforth。Canyoumanagethat？“
“Yes，Sir，Ithinkso，withalittlepreparation。Iknowagooddealofonesortoranother，includingFrench。“
“Allright，threemonths’crammingatScoones’orWren’s，willdothetrick。AndnowIsupposeyouwantsomemoney？“
Godfreyexplainedthathedid，havingonly￡10whichhehadborrowedfromhisoldnurse。