'O, certainly,' replied the affable barrister. 'But please be under no

sense of hurry. I can give you,' he added, thoughtfully consulting his

watch--'yes, I can give you the whole afternoon.'

The business that brings me here,' resumed the Australian with gusto,

is devilish delicate, I can tell you. My friend Mr Thomas, being an

American of Portuguese extraction, unacquainted with our habits, and a

wealthy manufacturer of Broadwood pianos--'

'Broadwood pianos?' cried Gideon, with some surprise. 'Dear me, do I

understand Mr Thomas to be a member of the firm?'

'O, pirated Broadwoods,' returned Michael. 'My friend's the American

Broadwood.'

'But I understood you to say,' objected Gideon, 'I certainly have it

so in my notes--that your friend was a manufacturer of india--rubber

overshoes.'

'I know it's confusing at first,' said the Australian, with a beaming

smile. 'But he--in short, he combines the two professions. And many

others besides--many, many, many others,' repeated Mr Dickson, with

drunken solemnity. 'Mr Thomas's cotton-mills are one of the sights of

Tallahassee; Mr Thomas's tobacco-mills are the pride of Richmond, Va.;

in short, he's one of my oldest friends, Mr Forsyth, and I lay his case

134

The Wrong Box