Chapter 24

I found Jim at the shanty when I got back. He had shaved, and changed his clothes, and with his feet on the mantelpiece he was reading a month-old newspaper. He glanced up as I came in, and dropped the paper on the floor. "Anything doing?" he asked. "Quite a lot," I answered. "Your friend John James Hildebrand has quite distinguished himself." He listened while I told him what had occurred, and a faint look of surprise crossed his face. "I didn't know he had it in him," he remarked thoughtfully. "In fact, I have al…