ing. It doesn't go
down now, you know. The fact is this--you can't do me any harm, you can
only harm yourself; and I think you had better be advised by me and hold
your tongue."

Francis was silent for a minute or two. He was evidently impressed by
Oliver's manner.

"You're right in one way," he said, in a much more subdued tone. "People
wouldn't listen to me because I am so badly dressed--I look so poor. But
that could be remedied. A new suit of clothes might make all the
difference, Oliver. And then we could see whether _some_ people would
believe me or not!"

"And what difference will it make to me if people did believe you?" said
Oliver, slowly.

The man stared at him open-mouthed. Oliver was taking a view of things
which was unknown to Francis.

"Well," he answered, "considering that you and most of my relations and
friends have cut me for the last ten years because I got into trouble
over a few accounts at the bank--and considering the sorry figure I cut
now in consequence--I don't know why you should be so careless of the
possibility of partaking my downfall! I should say that it would be
rather worse for you than it has been for me; and it hasn't been very
nice for _me_, I can assure you!"

Oliver's face grew a trifle paler, but his voice was as smooth as ever
when he began to speak.

"Now, look here, Francis," he said, "I'll be open and plain with you. Of
course, I know what you are alluding to; it would be weakness to pretend
that I did not. But I assure you that you are on the wrong track. In
your case you were found to have embezzled money, falsified accounts,
and played the devil with old Lawson's affairs generally. You were
prosecuted for it, and the whole case was in the papers. You got off on
some technical point, but everybody knew that you were guilty, and
everybody cut you dead--except, you will remember, your brother and
sister, who continued to give you money, and were exceedingly kind to
you. You were publicly disgraced, and there was no way of hushing the
matter up at all. I am sorry to be obliged to put things so
disagreeably----"

"Go on! You needn't apologize," said Francis, with a rather husky laugh.
"I know it all as well as you do. Go on."

"I wish to point out the difference between our positions," said Oliver,
calmly. "I did something a little shady myself, when I was a lad of
twenty--at your instigation, mind; I signed old Romaine's name in the
wrong place, didn't I? Old Roma