“Can you be serious about any mortal thing, Allan?”
“I’ll try to be, if you like. I know I ought to take the lawyer; but what can I do if the major’s daughter keeps running in my head?”
Midwinter returned resolutely to the just and sensible view of the matter, and pressed it on his friend’s attention with all the persuasion of which he was master. After listening with exemplary patience until he had done, Allan swept a supplementary accumulation of litter off the cabin table, and produced from his waistcoat pocket a half-crown coin.
“I’ve got an entirely new idea,” he said. “Let’s leave it to chance.”
The absurdity of the proposal—as coming from a landlord—was irresistible. Midwinter’s gravity deserted him.
“I’ll spin,” continued Allan, “and you shall call. We must give precedence to
