ut in his conflict with the turnpike-man, and I had more than
half-strangled him with my own hands, I felt leniently disposed towards
him. I therefore replied:--

"Tell me, truly and honestly, supposing you can for once contrive to
do so, all you know about this business; and if, as I imagine, you have
only been the tool of others ~462~~ in the affair, it is possible my
friend, Mr. Frampton, may be induced to let you off ".

Upon this hint, the captain having prevailed upon me to remove his
extempore handcuffs, and passed his word not to attempt escape,
proceeded to give me the following particulars:--

About a year or so before he had acted in some mysterious capacity at a
gambling-house, of which Cumberland was part proprietor, and which
was one of Wilford's favourite resorts. The debts which, as a boy,
Cumberland had begun to contract, had increased till he became deeply
involved; and after availing himself of every kind of subterfuge
to postpone the evil day, was on the point of being arrested by his
principal creditor, a money-lender, to whom he owed seven hundred and
fifty pounds. Shortly before the day on which he had promised to meet
the demand, Spicer, getting a cheque cashed at a banker's in the city,
was present when an agent of Wilford's paid in to his account two
thousand pounds, which circumstance he mentioned to Cumberland. That
evening Cumberland induced Wilford to play picquet; they played high,
but fortune varied, and at the end of the game Cumberland rose a winner
of eighty pounds, for which Wilford wrote him a cheque. On examining his
banker's book shortly afterwards, Wilford discovered that a cheque for
eight hundred pounds had been presented and duly honoured, which proved,
on minute inspection, to be the cheque written for Cumberland, and of
course a forgery. For reasons of his own, one of which no doubt was to
obtain absolute power over Cumberland, Wilford refused to prosecute.
When, some months after this transaction, Spicer was summoned to assist
in carrying off Clara, Cumberland sought him out, told him that he had a
scheme to frustrate Wilford and gain possession of Clara, and proved to
him that he had by some means obtained five thousand pounds in specie,
of which he offered him one thousand pounds if he would assist him, his
object being to escape to America, and live there upon Clara's fortune.
Captain Spicer, tempted by the magnitude of the sum mentioned, aware
that his character was to