is silence and perplexity when Williams had made an end.

"To-be-sure," said he, after some pause, "the contract was explicit.
To-be-sure, the conditions on Mr. Mervyn's side have been performed.
Certain it is, the bills are entire and complete, but Mrs. Maurice will
not consent to do her part, and Mrs. Maurice, to whom the papers were
presented, is the person by whom, according to the terms of the
contract, the reward must be paid."

"But Mrs. Maurice, you know, sir, may be legally compelled to pay," said
Williams.

"Perhaps she may; but I tell you plainly, that she never will do the
thing without compulsion. Legal process, however, in this case, will
have other inconveniences besides delay. Some curiosity will naturally
be excited, as to the history of these papers. Watson disappeared a
twelvemonth ago. Who can avoid asking, Where have these papers been
deposited all this while, and how came this person in possession of
them?"

"That kind of curiosity," said I, "is natural and laudable, and gladly
would I gratify it. Disclosure or concealment in that case, however,
would nowise affect my present claim. Whether a bond, legally executed,
shall be paid, does not depend upon determining whether the payer is
fondest of boiled mutton or roast beef. Truth, in the first case, has no
connection with truth in the second. So far from eluding this curiosity,
so far from studying concealment, I am anxious to publish the truth."

"You are right, to-be-sure," said Hemmings. "Curiosity is a natural, but
only an incidental, consequence in this case. I have no reason for
desiring that it should be an unpleasant consequence to you."

"Well, sir," said Williams, "you think that Arthur Mervyn has no remedy
in this case but the law?"

"Mrs. Maurice, to-be-sure, will never pay but on compulsion. Mervyn
should have known his own interest better. While his left hand was
stretched out to give, his right should have been held forth to receive.
As it is, he must be contented with the aid of law. Any attorney will
prosecute on condition of receiving _half the sum_ when recovered."

We now rose to take our leave, when Hemmings, desiring us to pause a
moment, said, "To-be-sure, in the utmost strictness of the terms of our
promise, the reward was to be paid by the person who received the
papers; but it must be owned that your claim, at any rate, is
equitable. I have money of the deceased Mr. Maurice in my hands. These
very bills are now in