s,
she'll do what she's gone to do."

"What the devil do you mean by lies?" said Sir Francis, rising in
wrath from his chair.

"Well; lies mean lies. As I haven't applied the word to anyone I
suppose I may be allowed to use it and to stand by it. I suppose you
know what lies mean, and I suppose you are aware that Western has
been made to believe lies about his wife."

"Who told them?"

"I say nothing about that," said Dick. "Lies are a sort of thing
which are very commonly told, and are ordinarily ascribed to the
world at large. The world never quarrels with the accusation. The
world has told most infernal lies to this man about his wife. I don't
suppose the world means to call me out for saying as much as that."
Then the two remained silent for some moments and Dick proceeded with
his eloquence. "Of course there have been lies,--damnable lies. Had a
man, or a woman,--it's all one,--gone to that poor creature with a
pistol in his hand and blown her brains out he wouldn't have done a
more dastardly action."

"What the devil do you mean by that?" said the other.

"I'm not talking about you,--specially. I say lies have been told;
but I do not say who has told them. I rather suspect a woman to be at
the bottom of it." Sir Francis who had in his pocket a most tender
and loving reply from Miss Altifiorla knew very well who was the lady
to whom Dick referred. "That man has been made to believe certain
things about his wife which are all lies,--lies from beginning to
end."

"He has been made to believe that she was engaged to me first. Is
that a lie?"

"That depends on the way in which it was told. He didn't send her
home merely for that. I am not saying what the lies were, but they
were damnable lies. You sometimes tell me that I ain't any better
than another,--or generally a great deal worse. But I'd rather have
blown my brains out than have told such lies about a woman as have
been told here by somebody. You ask me what they were saying at the
club in Perth. Now you know it pretty well all."

It must be supposed that what had passed at the club had induced Dick
to determine that it would no longer become him to remain with Sir
Francis as his humble friend. Very evil things had in truth been
said of Sir Francis, and they were more than Dick could endure. The
natural indignation of the man was aroused, so that by degrees it had
come to pass that he hated the Baronet. He had before said very sharp
words to him, bu