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“No, Fin; go on.”

“Well, I was tellin’ ye about the night Sir Henry’s man–that’s the lady’s father, sor–come to the rank where I sat on me box. It was about ten o’clock–rainin’ hard and bad goin’, it was that slippery.

“‘His Lordship wants ye in a hurry, Fin,’ and he jumped inside.

“When I got there I see something was goin’ on–a party or something–the lights was lit clear up to the roof.

“‘His Lordship’s waitin’ in the hall for ye,’ said his man, and I jumped off me box and wint inside.

“‘Fin,’ said His Lordship, speakin’ low, ‘there’s a lady dinin’ wid me and the wine’s gone to her head, and she’s that full that if she waits until her own carriage comes for her she won’t git home at all! Go back and get on yer cab wid yer fingers to yer hat, and I’ll bring her out and put her in meself. It’s dark and she won’t know the difference. Take her down to Cadogan Square–I don’t know the number, but ye can’t miss it, for it’s the fust white house wid geraniums in the winders. When ye git there ye’re to git down, help her up the steps, keepin’ yer mouth shut, unlock the door, and set her down on the sofa. You’ll find the sofa in the parlor on the right, and can’t miss it. Then lay the key on the mantel–here it is. After she’s down, step out softly, close the door behind ye, ring the bell, and some of her servants will come and put her to bed. She’s often took that way and they know what to do.’ Then he says, lookin’ at me straight, ‘I sent for you, Fin, for I know I kin trust ye. Come here tomorrow and let me know how she got through and I’ll give ye five bob.’

“Well, sor, in a few minutes out she come, leanin’ on His Lordship’s arm, steppin’ loike she had spring-halt, and takin’ half the sidewalk to turn in.

“‘Good-night, Your Ladyship,’ says His Lordship.

“‘Good-night, Sir Henry,’ she called back, her head out of the winder, and off I driv.

“I turned into the Square, found the white house wid the geraniums, helps her out of me cab and steadied her up the steps, pulled the key out, and was just goin’ to put it in the lock when she fell up agin the door and open it went. The gas was turned low in the hall, so that she wouldn’t know me if she looked at me.

“I found the parlor, but the lights were out; so widout lookin’ for the sofa–I was afraid somebody’d come and catch me–I slid her into a rockin’-chair, laid the key on the hall-table, shut the door softlike, rang the bell as if there was a fire next door, jumped on me box, and driv off.

“The next mornin’ I went to see His Lordship.

“‘Did ye land her all right, Fin?’

“‘I did, sor,’ I says.

“‘Had ye any trouble wid the key?’

“‘No, sor,’ I says, ‘the door was open.’

“‘That’s queer,’ he says; ‘maybe her husband came in earlier and forgot to shut it. And ye put her on the sofa—-‘

“‘No, sor, in a big chair.’

“‘In the parlor on the right?’

“‘No, sor, in a little room on the left–down one step—-‘

“He stopped and looked at me.

“‘Te’re sure ye put her in the fust white house?’

“‘I am, sor.’

“‘Wid geraniums in the winder?’

“‘Yes, sor.’

“‘Red?’ he says.

“‘No, white,’ I says.

“‘On the north side of the Square?

“‘No,’ I says, ‘on the south.’

“‘My God! Fin,’ he says, ‘ye left her in the wrong house!'”

It was I who shook the boat this time.

“Oh, ye needn’t laugh, sor; it was no laughin’ matter. I got me five bob, but I lost His Lordship’s custom, and I didn’t dare go near Cadogan Square for a month.”

These disclosures opened up a new and wider horizon. Heretofore I had associated Fin with simple country life–as a cheery craftsman–a Jack-of-all-trades: one day attired in overalls, with paste-pot, shears, and ladder, brightening the walls of the humble cottagers, and the next in polo cap and ragged white sweater, the gift of some summer visitor (his invariable costume with me), adapting himself to the peaceful needs of the river. Here, on the contrary and to my great surprise, was a cosmopolitan; a man versed in the dark and devious ways of a great city; familiar with life in its widest sense; one who had touched on many sides and who knew the cafes, the rear entrances to the theatres, and the short cut to St. John’s Wood with the best and worst of them. These discoveries came with a certain shock, but they did not impair my interest in my companion. They really endeared him to me all the more.