That is dispersion too; I have
seen it, and I know how far niggers as a race can be trusted, and how
much they deserve sympathy. I agree with Mr. Blackburn."
Blackburn raised his glass. "Mrs. Falchion," he said, "I need no further
evidence to prove my case. Experience is the best teacher."
"As I wish to join the chorus to so notable a compliment, will somebody
pass the claret?" said Colonel Ryder, shaking the crumbs of a pate from
his coat-collar. When his glass was filled, he turned towards Mrs.
Falchion, and continued: "I drink to the health of the best teacher." And
every one laughingly responded. This impromptu toast would have been
drunk with more warmth, if we could have foreseen an immediate event. Not
less peculiar were Mrs. Falchion's words to Hungerford the evening
before, recorded in the last sentence of the preceding chapter.
Cigars were passed, and the men rose and strolled away. We wandered
outside the gardens, passing the rejected guide as we did so. "I don't
like the look in his eye," said Clovelly.
Colonel Ryder laughed. "You've always got a fine vision for the
dramatic.
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