r I chanced to have any more of these spurious notes in my
possession. He certainly had a right to ask the question; but there was
something peculiar in his tone-insinuating suspicion. It is certainly
difficult to judge of the motives which rule a person's conduct, but I
cannot help imagining that he was somewhat influenced in his behaviour on
that occasion, which was anything but friendly, by my having refused to
sell him the horses at a price less than that which I expected to get at
the fair; be this as it may, the question filled me with embarrassment,
and I bitterly repented not having at first been more explicit. Thereupon
the magistrate in the same kind of tone, demanded to see my pocket-book.
I knew that to demur would be useless, and produced it, and therewith,
amongst two or three small country notes, appeared the fourth which I had
received from the Horncastle dealer. The agent took it up and examined
it with attention. 'Well, is it a genuine note?' asked the magistrate.
'I am sorry to say that it is not,' said the agent; 'it is a forgery,
like the other three.' The magistrate shrugged his shoulders, as indeed
did several people in the room. 'A regular dealer in forged notes,' said
a person close behind me; 'who would have thought it?'

"Seeing matters begin to look so serious, I aroused myself, and
endeavoured to speak in my own behalf, giving a candid account of the
manner in which I became possessed of the notes; but my explanation did
not appear to meet much credit; the magistrate, to whom I have in
particular alluded, asked, why I had not at once stated the fact of my
having received a fourth note; and the agent, though in a very quiet
tone, observed that he could not help thinking it somewhat strange that I
should have changed a note of so much value for a perfect stranger, even
supposing that he had purchased my horses, and had paid me their value in
hard cash; and I noticed that he laid particular emphasis on the last
words. I might have observed that I was an inexperienced young man, who,
meaning no harm myself, suspected none in others, but I was confused,
stunned, and my tongue seemed to cleave to the roof of my mouth. The men
who had taken my horses to Horncastle, and for whom I had sent, as they
lived close at hand, now arrived, but the evidence which they could give
was anything but conclusive in my favour; they had seen me in company
with an individual at Horncastle, to whom, by my order