'
'Nay,' said Sir John, bantering him with a gay air; 'the wild gentleman,
who died so suddenly, scarcely went as far as that, I think?'
'He did not,' returned the locksmith, 'for she had bound him by some
pledge, known only to these people, and which the worst among them
respect, not to tell your name: but, in a fantastic pattern on the
stick, he had carved some letters, and when the hangman asked it, he
bade him, especially if he should ever meet with her son in after life,
remember that place well.'
'What place?'
'Chester.'
The knight finished his cup of chocolate with an appearance of infinite
relish, and carefully wiped his lips upon his handkerchief.
'Sir John,' said the locksmith, 'this is all that has been told to me;
but since these two men have been left for death, they have conferred
together closely. See them, and hear what they can add. See this Dennis,
and learn from him what he has not trusted to me. If you, who hold the
clue to all, want corroboration (which you do not), the means are easy.'
'And to what,' said Sir John Chester, rising on his elbow, after
smoothing the pillow for its reception; 'my dear, good-natured,
estimable Mr Varden--with whom I cannot be angry if I would--to what
does all this tend?'
'I take you for a man, Sir John, and I suppose it tends to some pleading
of natural affection in your breast,' returned the locksmith.
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