Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/158

 "I got them in London before I came here. Will you have one?"

Harrison accepted thankfully, lit the weed, and expressed his satisfaction.

"This is a bit of all right!" he cried admiringly. "This ain't no twopenny smoke. How much do they cost?"

"I'm sure I haven't the slightest idea," replied Stranleigh.

A broad smile illuminated the face of Bert Harrison. He expressed his enlightenment with a wink.

"Don't you fear, mate," he said. "No questions asked, but you do know how to pick out the goods. I thought them white, ladylike fingers of yours was made for something nippier than handling a spade. Well, talking about delegations, I'm asked by the comrades to make a strike for tobacco. Do you think old 'Longbeard' will come down?"

"I shouldn't wonder, if it's put to him nicely."

"That's just the point, and so we thought you'd be the best man to do the chinning. There's five of us going in to see him now, and we want you to be spokesman."

"I don't mind. Tell me exactly what the demand is."

"Well, tobacco's just as much a necessity of