’I know all about it, Caldigate.  I won’t go to him at all.  What’s he to us?  It ain’t likely that I am going to ask him for money to hold our tongues.  Not a bit of it.  You’ve had sixty thousand pounds out of that mine.  The bank found twenty and took all the plant.  There’s forty gone.  Will you share the loss?  Give us twenty and we’ll be off back to Australia by the first ship.  And I’ll take a wife back with me.  You understand?  I’ll take a wife back with me.  Then we shall be all square all round.’

With what delight would he have given the twenty thousand pounds, had he dared!  Had there been no question about the woman, he would have given the money to satisfy his own conscience as to the injury he had involuntarily done to his old partners.  But he could not do it now.  He could make no suggestion towards doing it.  To do so would be to own to all the Boltons that Mrs. Euphemia Smith was his wife.  And were he to do so, how could he make himself secure that the man and the woman would go back to Australia and trouble him no more?  All experience forbade him to hope for such a result.  And then the payment of the money would be one of many damning pieces of evidence against him.  They had now got back for the second time to the spot at which the way up to the house at Folking turned off from the dike.  Here he paused and spoke what were intended to be his last words.  ’I have nothing more to say, Crinkett.  I will not promise anything myself.  A threatened man should never give way.  You know that yourself.  But if you will go to my brother-in-law I will get him to see you.’

’D——­ your brother-in-law.  He ain’t your brother-in-law, no more than I am.’

Now the sword had been drawn and the battle had been declared.  ’After that,’ said Caldigate, walking on in front, ’I shall decline to speak to you any further.’  He went back through the farmyard at a quick pace, while Crinkett kept up with him, but still a few steps behind.  In the front of the house they found Jack Adamson, who, in obedience to his friend’s suggestion had been sitting anywhere about the place.

‘I’m blowed if he don’t mean to stick to every lump he’s robbed us of!’ said Crinkett, in a loud voice.

‘He do, do he?  Then we know what we’ve got to be after.’

’I’ve come across some of ’em precious mean,’ continued Crinkett; ’but a meaner skunk nor this estated gent, who is a justice of the peace and a squire and all that, I never did come across, and I don’t suppose I never shall.’  And then they stood looking at him, jeering at him.  And the gardener, who was then in the front of the house, heard it all.

‘Darvell,’ said the squire, ‘open the gate for these gentlemen.’  Darvell of course knew that they had been brought from the church to the house, and had been invited in to the christening breakfast.