"Yes, sir."
I was in an unpleasant position. Ukridge, by his defection, had left
me in charge of the farm. I could dissolve the concern, I supposed, if
I wished, and return to London; but I particularly desired to remain
in Lyme Regis. To complete the victory I had won on the links, it was
necessary for me to continue as I had begun. I was in the position of
a general who has conquered a hostile country, and is obliged to
soothe the feelings of the conquered people before his labors can be
considered at an end. I had rushed the professor. It must now be my
aim to keep him from regretting that he had been rushed. I must,
therefore, stick to my post with the tenacity of a boy on a burning
deck. There would be trouble. Of that I was certain. As soon as the
news got about that Ukridge had gone, the deluge would begin. His
creditors would abandon their passive tactics and take active steps.
The siege of Port Arthur would be nothing to it. There was a chance
that aggressive measures would be confined to the enemy at our gates,
the tradesmen of Lyme Regis. But the probability was that the news
would spread and the injured merchants of Dorchester and Axminster
rush to the scene of hostilities. I foresaw unpleasantness.
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