The Black Spaniel [antikvár]

THE BLACK SPANIEL. PART I.—THE DEATH. I. In the big hall of the Grand Hotel at Rome I introduced Peter Deeming to Vernon Kersteven. The two men were friends of mine, and I wanted them to like one another; and, perhaps because they were both fond of me, I thought that they would get on well together, and that we should form a happy and lively trio at dinner. Was this the fancy of an egoist? I have sometimes wondered since. At the time I speak of I had known Deeming for over two years, having met him first in London at a friend's house. Vernon was a comparatively recent acquaintance whom I had encountered when I was travelling in Algeria; but already in my heart I gave him the dearer title, for I had come to like him greatly, and I knew that my sympathy was returned. The two men were very different—in their appearance, their natures, their ways of life—but differences sometimes seem to make for pleasant intercourse, and