Dialstone Lane | Page 9

of life, too."
Mr. Chalk flushed. Peckham Rye was one of the nuisances bequeathed
by his mother.
"I was thinking of the sea," he said, loftily.
Mrs. Chalk pounced. "Oh, Yarmouth," she said, with withering scorn.
Mr. Chalk flushed deeper than before. "I wasn't thinking of such
things," he declared.
"What things? "said his wife, swiftly.
"The-the things you're alluding to," said the harassed Mr. Chalk.
"Ah!" said his wife, with a toss of her head. "Why you should get red in
the face and confused when I say Peckham Rye and Yarmouth are a
long way off is best known to yourself. It's very funny that the moment
either of these places is mentioned you get uncomfortable. People
might read a geography-book out loud in my presence and it wouldn't
affect me."
She swept out of the room, and Mr. Chalk's thoughts, excited by the
magic word geography, went back to the island again. The
half-forgotten dreams of his youth appeared to be materializing. Sleepy
Binchester ended for him at Dialstone Lane, and once inside the
captain's room the enchanted world beyond the seas was spread before
his eager gaze. The captain, amused at first at his enthusiasm, began to
get weary of the subject of the island, and so far the visitor had begged

in vain for a glimpse of the map.
His enthusiasm became contagious. Prudence, entering one evening in
the middle of a conversation, heard sufficient to induce her to ask for
more, and the captain, not without some reluctance and several
promptings from Mr. Chalk when he showed signs of omitting vital
points, related the story. Edward Tredgold heard it, and, judging by the
frequency of his visits, was almost as interested as Mr. Chalk.
"I can't see that there could be any harm in just looking at the map,"
said Mr. Chalk, one evening. "You could keep your thumb on any part
you wanted to."
"Then we should know where to dig," urged Mr. Tredgold. "Properly
managed there ought to be a fortune in your innocence, Chalk."
Mr. Chalk eyed him fixedly. "Seeing that the latitude and longitude and
all the directions are written on the back," he observed, with cold
dignity, "I don't see the force of your remarks."
"Well, in that case, why not show it to Mr. Chalk, uncle? "said
Prudence, charitably.
Captain Bowers began to show signs of annoyance. "Well, my dear,"
he began, slowly.
"Then Miss Drewitt could see it too," said Mr. Tredgold, blandly.
Miss Drewitt reddened with indignation. "I could see it any time I
wished," she said, sharply.
"Well, wish now," entreated Mr. Tredgold. "As a matter of fact, I'm
dying with curiosity myself. Bring it out and make it crackle, captain;
it's a bank-note for half a million."
The captain shook his head and a slight frown marred his usually
amiable features. He got up and, turning his back on them, filled his
pipe from a jar on the mantelpiece.

"You never will see it, Chalk," said Edward Tredgold, in tones of much
conviction. "I'll bet you two to one in golden sovereigns that you'll sink
into your honoured family vault with your justifiable curiosity still
unsatisfied. And I shouldn't wonder if your perturbed spirit walks the
captain's bedroom afterwards."
Miss Drewitt looked up and eyed the speaker with scornful
comprehension. "Take the bet, Mr. Chalk," she said, slowly.
Mr. Chalk turned in hopeful amaze; then he leaned over and shook
hands solemnly with Mr. Tredgold. "I'll take the bet," he said.
"Uncle will show it to you to please me," announced Prudence, in a
clear voice. "Won't you, uncle?"
The captain turned and took the matches from the table. "Certainly, my
dear, if I can find it," he said, in a hesitating fashion. "But I'm afraid
I've mislaid it. I haven't seen it since I unpacked."
"Mislaid it!" ejaculated the startled Mr. Chalk. "Good heavens!
Suppose somebody should find it? What about your word to Don Silvio
then?"
"I've got it somewhere," said the captain, brusquely; "I'll have a hunt
for it. All the same, I don't know that it's quite fair to interfere in a bet."
Miss Drewitt waved the objection away, remarking that people who
made bets must risk losing their money.
"I'll begin to save up," said Mr. Tredgold, with a lightness which was
not lost upon Miss Drewitt. "The captain has got to find it before you
can see it, Chalk."
Mr. Chalk, with a satisfied smile, said that when the captain promised a
thing it was as good as done.
For the next few days he waited patiently, and, ransacking an old
lumber-room, divided his time pretty equally between a volume of

"Captain Cook's Voyages" that he found there and "Famous
Shipwrecks." By this means and the exercise of great self-control he