"Why, for once I agree with you, Bentley," says I, "'tis an offer not devoid of spirit, and should be accepted as such."
Jack sat down, took two gulps of wine, and rose again.
"Mr. Tawnish," says he, "since these gentlemen are in unison upon the matter, and further, knowing they have the good of the Lady Penelope at heart as much as I, I will accept your proposition, and we will, each of us, set you a task. But, sir, I warn you, do not delude yourself with false hopes; you shall not find them over-easy, I'll warrant."
Mr. Tawnish bowed, with the very slightest shrug of his shoulders.
"Firstly, then," Jack began, "you must--er--must--" Here he paused to rub his chin and stare at his boots. "Firstly," he began again, "if you shall succeed in doing--" Here his eyes wandered slowly up to the rafters, and down again to me. "Curse it, Dick!" he broke off, "what the devil must he do?"
"Firstly," I put in, "you must accomplish some feat the which each one of us three shall avow to be beyond him."
"Good!" cries Jack, rubbing his hands, "excellent--so much for the first. Secondly--I say secondly--er--ha, yes--you must make a public laughing stock of that quarrelsome puppy, Sir Harry Raikes. Raikes is a dangerous fellow and generally pinks his man, sir."
"So they tell me," nodded Mr. Tawnish, jotting down a few lines in his memorandum.
"Thirdly," ended Bentley, "you must succeed in placing all three of us--namely, Sir Richard Eden, Sir John Chester, and myself--together and at the same time, at a disadvantage."
"Now, sir," says Jack, complacently, "prove your manhood equal to these three tasks, and you shall be free to woo and wed the Lady Penelope whenever you will. How say you, Dick and Bentley?"
"Agreed," we replied.
"Indeed, gentlemen," says Mr. Tawnish, glancing at his memoranda with a slight frown, "I think the labours of Hercules were scarce to be compared to these, yet I do not altogether despair, and to prove to you my readiness in the matter, I will, with your permission, go and set about the doing of them." With these words he rose, took up his hat, and with a most profound obeisance turned to the door.
At this moment, however, there came a trampling of feet upon the stairs, another door was thrown open, and in walked Sir Harry Raikes himself, followed by D'Arcy and Hammersley, with three or four others whose faces were familiar. They were all in boisterous spirits, Sir Harry's florid face being flushed more than ordinary with drinking, and there was an ugly light in his prominent blue eyes.