Jones was reading his morning paper in the opposite corner seat with
unusual attention, and he disregarded my greeting.
"Why this absorption?" I inquired. "Usually you come to the station
with a piece of toast behind one ear, fastening your boots as you run,
and wake us all up with your first fine morning rapture."
"I was just taking a look at the exchanges," he replied. "The mark's
about the same price as fly-paper, and, judging by the news from New
York, your chewing-gum is going to cost you more shortly. Do you know
anything about the money market?"
"I occasionally see it stated that 'money is plentiful' in it," I
returned. "I should think it must be an ideal place."
"The most gorgeous thing in the world is to make a bit on exchange,"
he said. "There's such a splendid feeling of not having earned it, you
know."
"I understand exactly," I replied. "Cox once credited me with an extra
month's pay by mistake. But I didn't realise that you ever had to
think about money matters after having run our Mess in France."
He appeared to take no offence. His capacity for being insulted in
that direction had probably been exhausted during the period in point.
"I know quite a lot about exchange," he remarked with a reminiscent
smile. "You remember that when I got pipped in France in '15, they
sent me out next time to Salonica. I hadn't been there very long
before the question of exchange cropped up. In the early days most
of us had English money only, and the villagers used to rook us
frightfully changing it. I remember sending my batman, MacGusgogh, to
a place for eggs, and he came back with the change for my Bradbury
in nickel. I had a good look at it, and on each coin was the mystic
inscription, 'DIHAP,' which is pronounced 'dinar.'
"'MacGusgogh,' I said, 'you pretend to be a Scotsman and yet you've
been diddled. This is Serbian money, and not worth a bean.'
"'Oh the deceitfu' deevils,' said he, 'there's neither truth nor
honesty in the leein' buddies, Sir. But here's your Bradbury, an', at
onny rate, we hae the eggs, Sir, for I paid for them wi' a label off
yin o' they Japaneesy beer bottles. It seemed an awfu' waste to spend
guid siller on folk that dinna ken when they see it.'"