rry, when he had read it all, began to storm with anger. The man, as
he truly observed, had grossly insulted him. Mr. Prosper had called him
a liar and had hinted that he was a murderer. "You can do nothing to
him," his father said. "He is your uncle, and you have eaten his bread."

"I can't call him out and fight him."

"You must let it alone."

"I can make my way into the house and see him."

"I don't think you can do that. You will find it difficult to get beyond
the front-door, and I would advise you to abandon all such ideas. What
can you say to him?"

"It is false!"

"What is false? Though in essence it is false, in words it is true. You
did deny that you had seen him."

"I forget what passed. Augustus Scarborough endeavored to pump me about
his brother, and I did not choose to be pumped. As far as I can
ascertain now, it is he that is the liar. He saw his brother after the
affair with me."

"Has he denied it?"

"Practically he denies it by asking me the question. He asked me with
the ostensible object of finding out what had become of his brother when
he himself knew what had become of him."

"But you can't prove it. He positively says that you did deny having
seen him on the night in question, I am not speaking of Augustus
Scarborough, but of your uncle. What he says is true, and you had better
leave him alone. Take other steps for driving the real truth into his
brain."

"What steps can be taken with such a fool?"

"Write your own account of the transaction, so that he shall read it.
Let your mother have it. I suppose he will see your mother."

"And so beg his favor."

"You need beg for nothing. Or if the marriage comes off--"

"You have heard of the marriage, sir?"

"Yes; I have heard of the marriage. I believe that he contemplates it.
Put your statement of what did occur, and of your motives, into the
hands of the lady's friends. He will be sure to read it."

"What good will that do?"

"No good, but that of making him ashamed of himself. You have got to
read the world a little more deeply than you have hitherto done. He
thinks that he is quarrelling with you about the affair in London, but
it is in truth because you have declined to hear him read the sermons
after having taken his money."

"Then it is he that is the liar rather than I."

"I, who am a moderate man, would say that neither is a liar. You did not
choose to be pumped, as you call it, and therefore spoke as you did.
Accor