afraid if i tell you you will laugh at me laugh at oh dear no never did such a thing in my life much too serious a subject bid you dream about him well i have about him but that didn t make me think so but i have brought you a map and a which will show you that by means of i have traced my husband s whole career from the moment he left until he reached the spot where he is now chapter promise of harvest h m � ah ah � very interesting said sir john just look at this � just look at this this is very interesting are you a mrs i am not a myself i have some slight power of second sight but i have not rested on that i have had two both trying to trace my husband at different times they hardly know each other and are certainly not in he s there sir john i said he s there � there is no doubt about it now you are powerful if you choose you can send out a ship to� to find him send out a ship h m � very expensive business i d do it myself you know � oh i d send out the biggest that we ve got but unfortunately our powers are very limited � very limited indeed we used to be able � at least our used to be able to do a the magic wheel great deal they had more of their own way now if i were to order a ship to go out to look for your husband fm afraid they would clap me into a lunatic asylum you mean that i ought to be clapped into a lunatic asylum well i don t say so my dear young lady because i have more sympathy for you and there may be something in what you say but i couldn t convince the sea lords i am afraid that i was justified in spending the government s money or the country s money � the money on any such wild goose scheme as they would call it do you see it s quite hopeless i felt the tears into my eyes my heart went down to my boots and i had a struggle with myself to keep myself from bursting out crying in my intense disappointment i know so well what you think my dear young lady i know so well sir john went on you think i m a selfish old brute that s sitting comfortably here in a chair and doesn t i care a damn whether your husband is alive or dead now that s not so but i should be you up with all sorts of false hopes and promise of harvest i should be acting in an extremely unkind manner to you if i didn t tell you the truth at once � that i have not the power to order this commission for a minute or so i did not could not speak can t you help me in any way i asked at last well now i have been thinking � yes he looked up at the ceiling in the comer of the room and smoothed down one side of his chin and then the other � yes did you ever meet never ah that s a pity how can this lady get at i m sure i don t know sir he s a very difficult man to tackle perhaps mrs knows people in the world who would have an influence on my dear young lady sir john went on is first lord of the he does practically an he likes he mostly doesn t like that s the fault we have to find with him eh � he mostly doesn t like � yes now if you the magic wheel know somebody with a title that s worth calling a title you might get at that way i doubt if you could in any other i know the duke of oxford i said oh do you ah that s a different thing well now i tell you what you ll you set the duke of oxford to tackle i never saw under the influence of a duke but for a he s game to do practically you set your duke at him that s the best move you can make you set your duke at and unless i m very much mistaken he ll search every and rocky island in the length and breadth of the pacific only you must make your duke clearly understand that he must make it worth s while i got up i felt that i had never come across such a dear old man in the whole course of my existence oh you are good i said you t know the state of absolute terror mortal terror that i have been in this morning but why you are not fright ed of us surely promise of harvest yes i was horribly and oh i do thank you so much sir john so much so much and you too i said turning round to captain i turned all in a flutter of hope and excitement to go out of the room this way said captain yes down the stairs he bowed and turned back into the room and immediately the voice of the old admiral came down the passage poor girl poor girl poor girl oh most sorry made me feel quite queer quite queer of course won t lift a finger i stood rooted to the spot i could not hear what captain said in reply but a moment later the admiral s voice out again � oh quite mad poor thing poor thing a mere wild but it wouldn t do to waste the country s money on such a wild cat scheme as that poor 