The major stopped, and there was a long and constrained pause.
"Well, uncle," said Lawless presently, "you certainly were a mug."
"It was all due," answered the major, "to arguing with a man who is not a gentleman."
They both relapsed into silence again. The major was not exactly a poor man, but a thousand pounds, especially in wartime, is--well, a thousand pounds, and the old gentleman, as Lawless was well aware, could not afford to lose such a sum.
"So," remarked the Lieutenant after a while, "it's up to me to see that you don't lose that thou., uncle?"
"I don't say that, my boy, but if you could--er--manage to bring down a Zeppelin within the year it would be--er--a great convenience to me."
Lawless, in spite of the serious responsibility which had been thrust upon him, laughed.
"I hope this'll be a warning to you against an over-indulgence in family pride," he said.
"It was all my own fault, of course," answered the major sadly. "But remember," he added, brightening up, "the thousand pounds is yours if you get that airship. I wouldn't touch a penny of Sir John's money."
"I'm not so fastidious, uncle. So, if I do bring down a 'Zep'--which isn't at all likely, I'm afraid--I'll have much pleasure in taking charge of the cash."
In due course Lawless reported himself at headquarters, confident that now he would at once be sent to the Front. In this, however, he was again doomed to disappointment; for, much to his chagrin, he was sent with his mechanic to test a new type of seaplane off the Irish coast.
"I've a good mind to chuck the Service altogether," he growled at the thought of that thousand pounds becoming more visionary than ever. Certainly there was not much chance of encountering a Zeppelin off the coast of Munster, which was where the tests were to take place.
It was a warm, misty dawn and the moisture-laden atmosphere was like that of a damp hothouse when Lawless arrived to start the trials. These occupied the whole morning, and at noon the Lieutenant decided on a "stand-easy" so that Cassidy might partake of the lunch he had brought with him. The Lieutenant had intended to share the repast, but that last volplane had been too much for him, and he had succumbed to his new enemy--air-sickness.