"You must explain yourself, Sir," he said, haughtily.
"I am acquainted with _all_ the particulars of this proceeding, Mr. Thorn. If it goes abroad, so surely will they."
"She told you, did she?" said Thorn, in a sudden flash of fury.
Mr. Carleton was silent, with his air of imperturbable reserve, telling and expressing nothing but a cool independence that put the world at a distance.
"Ha!" said Thorn, "it is easy to see why our brave Englishman comes here to solicit "terms" for his honest friend Rossitur ?
he would not like the scandal of franking letters to Sing Sing. Come, Sir!" he said, s.n.a.t.c.hing up the pistol, "our business is ended ? come, I say, or I wont wait for you."
But the pistol was struck from his hand.
"Not yet," said Mr. Carleton, calmly, "you shall have your turn at these ? mind, I promise you; but my business must be done first ? till then, let them alone."
"Well, what is it?" said Thorn, impatiently. "Rossitur will be a convict, I tell you; so you"ll have to give up all thoughts of his niece, or pocket her shame along with her. What more have you got to say? that"s all your business, I take it."
"You are mistaken, Mr. Thorn," said Mr. Carleton, gravely.
"Am I? In what ?"
"In every position of your last speech."
"It don"t affect your plans and views, I suppose, personally, whether this prosecution is continued or not?"
"It does not in the least."
"It is indifferent to you, I suppose, what sort of a queen consort you carry to your little throne of a provinciality down yonder?"
"I will reply to you, Sir, when you come back to the subject,"
said Mr. Carleton, coldly.
"You mean to say that your pretensions have not been in the way of mine?"
"I have made none, Sir."
"Doesn"t she like you?"
"I have never asked her."
"Then, what possessed her to tell you all this to-night?"
"Simply because I was an old friend, and the only one at hand, I presume."
"And you do not look for any reward of your services, of course?"
"I wish for none, Sir, but her relief."
"Well, it don"t signify," said Thorn, with a mixture of expressions in his face ? "if I believed you, which I don"t ?
it don"t signify a hair what you do, when once this matter is known. I should never think of advancing my pretensions into a felon"s family."
"You know that the lady in whose welfare you take so much interest will in that case suffer aggravated distress as having been the means of hindering Mr. Rossitur"s escape."
"Can"t help it," said Thorn, beating the table with a ruler; "so she has; she must suffer for it. It isn"t my fault."
"You are willing, then, to abide the consequences of a full disclosure of all the circ.u.mstances? ? for part will not come out without the whole."
"There is happily n.o.body to tell them," said Thorn, with a sneer.
"Pardon me ? they will not only be told, but known thoroughly in all the circles in this country that know Mr. Thorn"s name."
"_The lady_," said Thorn, in the same tone, "would hardly relish such a publication of _her_ name ? _her welfare_ would be scantily advantaged by it."
"I will take the risk of that upon myself," said Mr. Carleton, quietly; "and the charge of the other."
"You dare not !" said Thorn. "You shall not go alive out of this room to do it! Let me have it, Sir! You said you would."
His pa.s.sion was at a fearful height, for the family pride which had been appealed to, felt a touch of fear, and his other thoughts were confirmed again, besides the dim vision of a possible thwarting of all his plans. Desire almost concentred itself upon revenge against the object that threatened them. He had thrown himself again towards the weapons which lay beyond his reach, but was met, and forcibly withheld from them.
"Stand back!" said Mr. Carleton. "I said I would, but I am not ready ? finish this business first."
"What is there to finish?" said Thorn, furiously ? "you will never live to do anything out of these doors again ? you are mocking yourself."
"My life is not in your hands, Sir, and I will settle this matter before I put it in peril. If not with you, with Mr.
Thorn, your father, to whom it more properly belongs."
"You cannot leave the room to see him," said Thorn, sneeringly.
"That is at my pleasure," said the other, "unless hindered by means I do not think you will use."
Thorn was silent.
"Will you yield anything of justice, once more, in favour of this distressed family?"
"That is, yield the whole, and let the guilty go free?"
"When the punishment of the offender would involve that of so many unoffending, who, in this case, would feel it with peculiar severity."
"He deserves it, if it was only for the money he has kept me out of; he ought to be made to refund what he has stolen, if it took the skin off his back!"
"That part of his obligation," said Mr. Carleton, "I am authorised to discharge, on condition of having the note given up. I have a cheque with me which I am commissioned to fill up, from one of the best names here. I need only the date of the note, which the giver of the cheque did not know."
Thorn hesitated, again tapping the table with the ruler in a troubled manner. He knew, by the calm erect figure before him and the steady eye he did not care to meet, that the threat of disclosure would be kept. He was not prepared to brave it, in case his revenge should fail; and if it did not ?
"It is deuced folly," he said, at length, with a half laugh, "for I shall have it back again in five minutes, if my eye don"t play me a trick; however, if you will have it so, I don"t care. There are chances in all things."
He went again to the cabinets, and presently brought the endorsed note. Mr. Carleton gave it a cool and careful examination, to satisfy himself of its being the true one, and then delivered him the cheque ? the blank duly filled up.
"There are chances in nothing, Sir," he said, as he proceeded to burn the note effectually in the candle.