ted, glancing at his watch. 'Is that what you
would say?'

Instead of replying, Hugh changed the leg on which he leant, shuffled
his cap from one hand to the other, looked at the ground, the wall, the
ceiling, and finally at Sir John himself; before whose pleasant face he
lowered his eyes again, and fixed them on the floor.

'And how have you been employing yourself in the meanwhile?' quoth Sir
John, lazily crossing his legs. 'Where have you been? what harm have you
been doing?'

'No harm at all, master,' growled Hugh, with humility. 'I have only done
as you ordered.'

'As I WHAT?' returned Sir John.

'Well then,' said Hugh uneasily, 'as you advised, or said I ought, or
said I might, or said that you would do, if you was me. Don't be so hard
upon me, master.'

Something like an expression of triumph in the perfect control he had
established over this rough instrument appeared in the knight's face for
an instant; but it vanished directly, as he said--paring his nails while
speaking:

'When you say I ordered you, my good fellow, you imply that I directed
you to do something for me--something I wanted done--something for my
own ends and purposes--you see? Now I am sure I needn't enlarge upon the
extreme absurdity of such an idea, however unintentional; so please--'
and here he turned his eyes upon him--'to be more guarded. Will you?'

'I meant to give you no offence,' said Hugh. 'I don't know what to say.
You catch me up so very short.'

'You will be caught up much shorter, my good friend--infinitely
shorter--one of these days, depend upon it,' replied his patron calmly.
'By-the-bye, instead of wondering why you have been so long, my wonder
should be why you came at all. Why did you?'

'You know, master,' said Hugh, 'that I couldn't read the bill I found,
and that supposing it to be something particular from the way it was
wrapped up, I brought it here.'

'And could you ask no one else to read it, Bruin?' said Sir John.

'No one that I could trust with secrets, master. Since Barnaby Rudge
was lost sight of for good and all--and that's five years ago--I haven't
talked with any one but you.'

'You have done me honour, I am sure.'

'I have come to and fro, master, all through that time, when there was
anything to tell, because I knew that you'd be angry with me if I stayed
away,' said Hugh, blurting the words out, after an embarrassed silence;
'and because I wished to please you if I could, and not to have y