896
WYLDER'S HAJVX).
say, horrified me," said the attorney, with a slow and
melancholy vehemence. "Better men might have sus-
pected something of it — I do solemnly pledge my honor
that nothing of the kind so much as crossed my mind —
not naturally suspicious, I believe, but all the more shock-
ed, Captain Lake, on that, account."
"He was poor then, you see, and a few pounds were
everything to him, and the temptation immense; but
clumsy fellows ought not to try that sort of thing. There's
the highway — Mark would have made a capital garrot-
ter."
The attorney groaned, and turned up his eyes. The
band was playing " Pop goes the weasel," and old Jack-
son, very well dressed and buckled up, with a splendid
smile upon his waggish, military countenance, cried, as he
passed, with a wave of his hand, "How do, Lake — how
do, Mr. Larkin — beautiful day!"
"I've no wish to injure Mark; but it is better that you
should know at once, than go about poking everywhere
for information."
"I do assure you " —
"And having really no wish to hurt him," pursued the
Captain, "and also making it, as I do, a point that you
shall repeat this conversation as little as possible, I don't
choose to appear singular, as your sole informant, and
I've given you here a line to Sir James Carter — he's
member, you know, for Huddlesbury. I mention, that
Mark, having broken his promise, and played for heavy
stakes, too, both on board his ship, and at Plymouth and
Naples, which I happen to know; and also by accosting
me, whom, as one of the gentlemen agreeing to impose
these conditions, he was never to address, I felt myself at
liberty to mention it to you, holding the relation you do
to me as well as to him, in consequence of the desir-