Any of those confounded bandits about?
I thought that was all rot." "It wasn't a real shot; only figurative." "Figurative!" "Yes; it was a--a girl." "By Jove!" cried Hawbury, starting up from an easy posture which he had secured for himself after fifteen minutes shifting and changing.
"A girl! You, Dacres, spooney! A fellow like you, and a girl! By Jove!" Hawbury fell back again, and appeared to be vainly trying to grapple with the thought.

Dacres put his cigar between his lips again, and gave one or two puffs at it, but it had gone out.

He pitched it out of the window, and struck his hand heavily on the arm of his chair.
"Yes, Hawbury, a girl; and spooney, too--as spooney as blazes; but I'll swear there isn't such another girl upon the whole face of the earth; and when you bear in mind the fact that my observation, with extended view, has surveyed mankind from China to Peru, you'll be able to appreciate the value of my statement." "All right, old man; and now for the adventure." "The adventure?
Well, you see, I started for a ride.

Had a misty idea of going to Sorrento, and was jogging along among a million pigs or so at Portici, when I overtook a carriage that was going slowly along.
There were three ladies in it.

The backs of two of them were turned toward me, and I afterward saw that one was old--no doubt the chaperon--and the other was young.