'Quite natural! And have been drinking together, eh?' pursued Sir John.
'Did you say what place you went to in company, when you left Lord
George's?'

Hugh had not said or thought of saying, but he told him; and this
inquiry being followed by a long train of questions, he related all that
had passed both in and out of doors, the kind of people he had seen,
their numbers, state of feeling, mode of conversation, apparent
expectations and intentions. His questioning was so artfully contrived,
that he seemed even in his own eyes to volunteer all this information
rather than to have it wrested from him; and he was brought to this
state of feeling so naturally, that when Mr Chester yawned at length and
declared himself quite wearied out, he made a rough kind of excuse for
having talked so much.

'There--get you gone,' said Sir John, holding the door open in his hand.
'You have made a pretty evening's work. I told you not to do this. You
may get into trouble. You'll have an opportunity of revenging yourself
on your proud friend Haredale, though, and for that, you'd hazard
anything, I suppose?'

'I would,' retorted Hugh, stopping in his passage out and looking
back; 'but what do I risk! What do I stand a chance of losing, master?
Friends, home? A fig for 'em all; I have none; they are nothing to me.
Give me a good scuffle; let me pay off old scores in a bold riot where
there are men to stand by me; and then use me as you like--it don't
matter much to me what the end is!'

'What have you done with that paper?' said Sir John.

'I have it here, master.'

'Drop it again as you go along; it's as well not to keep such things
about you.'

Hugh nodded, and touching his cap with an air of as much respect as he
could summon up, departed.

Sir John, fastening the doors behind him, went back to his
dressing-room, and sat down once again before the fire, at which he
gazed for a long time, in earnest meditation.

'This happens fortunately,' he said, breaking into a smile, 'and
promises well. Let me see. My relative and I, who are the most
Protestant fellows in the world, give our worst wishes to the Roman
Catholic cause; and to Saville, who introduces their bill, I have a
personal objection besides; but as each of us has himself for the first
article in his creed, we cannot commit ourselves by joining with a very
extravagant madman, such as this Gordon most undoubtedly is. Now really,
to foment his disturbances in secret, throug