The Young Duchess; or, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality — page 86: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

72 “Stop a moment!” interrupted Gaffney. “It suits me to go over the story along with you; and if we find ourselves of one accord, so much the better. Don’t think I’m going for to defend Rupert Pringle’s conduct :—that’s not my busi- ness. Well, as I was sayin’, you make the two discoveries at the same time—and something hap- pens to lead Pringle to suspect that you have found out the forgery—but he hasn’t the slightest idea that you’ve discovered the seduction of your mistress ;— and so he writes you a letter—he confesses the forgery—he explains his motive— he throws himself upon your mercy—he begs you to take up the bill at once and save him from the gallows. Isn’t that part of the tale right?” ** Yes, yes,” said Ponsford, who seemed to for- get his own ominous condition, with a knife at his throat and a pistol at his temple, in the feeling of bitter burning hatred which was aroused within him by these recollections ; so that he literally ground his teeth together. “Well,” continued Gaffney, “you had your false friend completely in your power: but in order to get him more thoroughly under.your thumb, you went and took up the bill for fear lest by any means Rupert Pringle should be able to compromise it with the bankers. And then you made use of the weapons you had thus got into your hands, to crush and ruin the poor devil altogether———” ‘“To punish him,” said Ponsford. ‘‘ Do you come here to avenge him ? If so,, you will be only aggravating his crimes. I dealt mercifully in- stead of harshly with him. I might have sent him to the scaffold: but I sent him only into exile! I might have exposed him: I hushed the matter up bad “No—I am not come to avenge him,” said Gaffney: “I’ve nothing to do with wengeance. You shall see what I am come for, when we've done our confab. So please to answer mea few questions. When you had discovered the forgery, received his letter, and got the forged bill in your possession, you sent for him and reproached him with the seduction of your mistress 2” “T did,” answered Ponsford. “You then told him that if he did not imme- diately leave the country, you would hand him over to the grasp of justice?” “T did. It was all the punishment that I chose to wreak upon him.” “Very right,” said Gaffney: “ you was acting as the judge in the case. Well, and you told him that you'd always keep the letter and the bill— that you’d never part with them documents—so that if ever he should dare to show his face again in his native land, you would to a certainty do your very worst? I think this was it—wasn’t it?” ‘* Right,” answered Ponsford. ‘* None but Pringle himself could have told you all this !” ‘Don’t be too fast,” interrupted Gaffney: “‘ we have got a little nore to say. Now, the truth is that twenty-five years have passed away since those things happened—you benefited by Prin- gle’s ruin a he “*T 2” ejaculated Ponsford. | ‘Come, not too loud !” said Jack Peppercom: and again the back of the blade was indented into the throat. ‘“‘ Yes—you!” continued Tim Gaffney: ‘ for you bought the Southdale Farm at half its value, Oe ete RT PN eR A a et he mt OMT cg ABS Ce er 8 8 OR +. THE YOUGN DUCHESS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A LADY OF QUALITY. Now don’t interrupt me !—I know that’s a fact, though it seems to be the only thing I’ve yet said which you ain’t very ready to admit. So now to the point.” “Ah !"—and the Squire eagerly awaited the coming explanation. “Tf Rupert Pringle lives, and comes for’ard, and throws himself at your feet to beg your par- don for his wrongs towards you—will you forgive him and let him buy back the farm at the price you gave for it 2” A sinister fire flashed from Ponsford’s eye, as he at once and with eagerness exclaimed, ‘‘ Yes— yes—I'll forgive him! I'll give him back his farm! Let him come to me! There, my good fellows! if this is your mission it is ended—and though you said you did not want to rob me, you are welcome to take my purse off the toilet-table there, and go about your business.” “ Ah !” said Gaffney, with a laugh, ‘‘so you've fallen into the trap——have you?” ‘What do you mean ?” asked Ponsford, looking bewildered and dismayed. “‘Tt means that you've still got the papers in your possession—I .mean the letter and the forged bill ; and that was’ the reason you snapped so eagerly at the question I put—because you would like to get Rupert Pringle into your clutches that you might hand him over to justice as a forger. That would be your game !—but it isn’t to take place.” , “Then what do you.mean?” asked the bewil- dered Squire. ‘Do you want to murder me?— has Pringle sent you? Good God! have mercy!” “T tell you again we don’t want your life. What the devil is the use of it to us ?” ‘‘What use indeed, as long as he remains quiet?” said Jack Peppercorn. “I'd see you hanged before I’d take your life unless I wanted it.” “The fact is,” continued Gaffney, “I’ve been pumping you. If I’d said to you point-blank, ‘Have you got them. pupers still? you would have been up to the dodge, and you would have said ‘No’ off-hand... But now I know you have got them, through your eagerness for Pringle to come and throw himself into your clutches. So now to the point :”—and then Gaffney went on to say, emphatically accentuating every syllable, ‘¢‘What we want, and what we’ve come for, is them papers—the letter and the bill.” ‘¢ You shall have them,” “ Let me get up.” “Why, you must take us for fools! You can lay there cozie enough, while you tell me where I can go and find the papers; and that being done, our business with you is done also.” ‘‘ The papers are in the library,” said Ponsford. “There is a bunch of keys on the toilet- table ” ‘“T have.them,” said Gaffney. ‘Go on.” “‘ That small key "—and the Squire pointed to it— opens a writing-desk, which you will find upon a side-table between the two windows. The papers are in the upper compartment—they are in a sealed envelope, on which the name of Pringle appears.” “Very good,” said Gaffney. “Of course, if you're deceiving me, it will be the worse for you; for I'll come back to see my pal here cut your throat with all the pleasure in the world.—Now, said the Squire. = arr ene ap ptr tL Py oO Connicloookks i a pr | Colin