I should have proposed it myself but for the discomforts and hardships of such a journey." "There's no use doing things by halves," the young man remarked.

"As to our other agent, I have the very man--Major Tobias Clutterbuck.

He is a shrewd, clever fellow, and he's always hard up.

Last week he wanted to borrow a tenner from me.

The job would be a godsend to him, and his social rank would be a great help to our plan.