wn to him. One was
Mr. Hemsworth; the other no less a person than Lanty Lawler, the
horse-dealer. One only remark is necessary. Familiar as these characters
already are, they here appeared in aspect somewhat different from what
they have hitherto exhibited. Hemsworth, no longer the associate of
fashionable company, had exchanged his silken deferential manner for an
air of easy confidence that seemed to fit him even better; Lanty, on the
other hand, had lost all his habitual self-possession, looked abashed
and sheepish, and seemed for all the world, as though he were in the
hands of one, who could dispose of his destiny as he willed it. All the
got up readiness of his wit, all his acquired frankness were now gone,
and in their place a timid hesitating manner that bespoke the most
abject fear and terror; it was evident, too, that he struggled hard to
conceal these signs of trepidation. He ate voraciously of all before
him, and endeavoured by the pre-occupation of the table to cover his
real sentiments at the moment; he drank, too, freely, filling a large
goblet to the brim with sherry several times during the meal; nor was
this unnoticed by Hemsworth, who at last interposed in a calm, but
commanding tone, as he laid his hand on the decanter--

"A pipe of it, if you please, Lanty; you may have a whole bank of the
Guadalquiver for your own drinking at another time; but now, if you
please, let us have calm heads and cool judgments. It is some time since
we met, and it may be longer ere we have another opportunity like the
present."

"Very true, sir," said Lanty, submissively, as he pushed his untasted
glass before him. "It was the wetting I was afeard of; my clothes were
soaked through."

Hemsworth paid no attention to the excuse, but sat for some minutes
deeply sunk in his reflections; then lifting his head suddenly, he
said--

"And so these papers have never been found?"

"Never, sir. I did my best to get them. I spent days at the place, and
had others looking besides. I said I'd give five guineas--and you know
what a reward that is down there--to the man who would bring them to me;
but from that hour to this, I never set eyes on them."

"While he was speaking these words, Hemsworth's eyes never turned from
him. They were fixed on him, not with any expression of severity or
harshness, neither did the glance indicate suspicion. It was a steady,
passionless stare, rather like one seeking an explanation, than
prejudgi