There's no saying where he may finish with a cross-roads' meet.' By the time the worthies had finished the bottle, they had got a certain way into each other's confidence.

The hint Lord Scamperdale had given about buying Sponge's horses still occupied Jack's mind; and the more he considered the subject, and the worth of a corner in his lordship's will, the more sensible he became of the truth of the old adage, that 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.' 'My lord,' thought Jack, 'promises fair, but it is _but_ a chance, and a remote one.

He may live many years--as long, perhaps longer, than me.

Indeed, he puts me on horses that are anything but calculated to promote longevity.

Then he may marry a wife who may eject me, as some wives do eject their husbands' agreeable friends; or he may change his mind, and leave me nothing after all.' All things considered, Jack came to the conclusion that he should not be doing himself justice if he did not take advantage of such fair opportunities as chance placed in his way, and therefore he thought he might as well be picking up a penny during his lordship's life, as be waiting for a contingency that might never occur.