s unanswered while others I
could have answered differently. Lawyer Trefry once told me I should
never get a living with my brains; I had too much body, he said. I am
not ashamed to say this. Nay, I have no faith in men who are clever
enough to give lying answers instead of true ones. Give me a man who
speaks out straight, and who knows nothing of crooked ways. The men that
the country wants are not clever, scheming men, who wriggle out of
difficulties by underhanded ways, but those who see only the truth, and
speak it, and fight for it if needs be. I am glad I had a fair amount of
schooling, as becomes one who ought to have been the squire of a parish,
but I am more thankful because I stand six feet four inches in my
stockings, and measured forty-six inches around the naked chest even at
twenty-one, and that I know next to nothing of sickness or bodily pain.
But more than everything, I am proud that although I have been badly
treated I have told no lies in order that truth may prevail, neither do
I remember striking an unfair blow. No doubt, I shall have many things
to answer for on the Judgment Day, but I believe God will reckon to my
account the fact that I tried to fight fairly when sorely tempted to do
otherwise.

I say this, because it may seem to many that I was foolish in telling
Tamsin Truscott the truth about myself. But as I said just now, I am not
clever at answering people, neither could I frame answers to her
questions which would hide the truth from her. Before we had been
talking ten minutes I had told her all about myself, except my love for
Naomi. I dared not speak about that, for I felt I was not worthy to
speak of her, whose life was far removed from unlawful men and their
ways. Moreover I could not bear that the secret of my heart should be
known. It should be first told to the one who only had a right to hear
it, even although she should refuse that which I offered her.

"And so," said Tamsin, "my father has promised that you shall win enough
money to buy Pennington if you will work with him."

"That he has," was my reply.

"And do you know the kind of life he lives?"

"I have heard," I replied.

"And would you feel happy, Jasper Pennington, if you bought back your
home, got by such means?"

"As for that," I replied, for I did not feel comfortable under her
words, "what harm is there in smuggling? I know of several parsons who
buy smuggled goods."

"If smuggling were all!" she said, signi