“But,” he continued, “I should be doing myself an injustice if I did not declare with equal sincerity that I do not believe that I have lost my bet.  I have not discovered Erik’s family, it is true, but all the information that I have been able to obtain corroborates the conclusion which I had arrived at.  The ‘Cynthia’ was, no doubt, an English vessel, for there are at least seventeen ships bearing this name registered at Lloyd’s.  As for ethnographical characteristics, they are clearly Celtic.  My hypothesis, therefore, as to the nationality of Erik is victoriously confirmed.  I am more than ever certain that he is of Irish extraction as I at first surmised.  But I can not compel his family to come forward and acknowledge him, if they have any reasons of their own for wishing him to continue lost to them.  This is all I have to say, my dear Hochstedt; and now you must be the judge as to whether the Quintilian of our friend Bredejord should not legitimately be transferred to my book-case!”

At these words, which seemed to occasion a strong inclination to laugh, the lawyer fell back in his arm-chair, raised his hands as if in protestation, then he fixed his brilliant eyes upon Professor Hochstedt to see how he would regard the matter.  The professor did not betray the embarrassment which might have been expected.  He would have certainly felt miserable if the doctor had urged any incontrovertible argument, which would have compelled him to decide in favor of one or the other.  His prudent character led him to speak in indefinite terms.  He excelled in presenting, one after the other, both sides of a question, and he reveled in his vagaries, like a fish in water.  Therefore, this evening he felt quite equal to the situation.

“The fact is incontestable,” he said, shaking his head, “that there are seventeen English vessels bearing the name of ‘Cynthia,’ and this seems to favor the conclusion arrived at by our eminent friend.  The characteristic traits also have assuredly great weight, and I do not hesitate to say that they appear to me to be quite conclusive.  I do not hesitate to confess that if I were called upon to give an opinion as to Erik’s nationality, I should say that he was Irish.  But to decide the bet in question we require something more than probabilities; we must have facts to guide us.  The chances so far greatly favor the opinion of Dr. Schwaryencrona, but Bredejord can allege that nothing has actually been proved.  I see, therefore, no sufficient reason for declaring that the Quintilian has been won by the doctor; neither can I say that the professor has lost his Pliny.  In my opinion, as the question remains undecided, it ought to be annulled, which is the best thing to do in such a case.”

The doctor’s face clearly betrayed his dissatisfaction.  As for Mr. Bredejord he leaped to his feet, saying: 

“Your argument is a beautiful one, my dear Hochstedt, but I think you are hasty in your conclusions.  Schwaryencrona, you say, has not verified his opinions sufficiently for you to say positively that he has won the bet, although you think that all the probabilities are in his favor.  What will you say then, if I prove to you immediately that the ‘Cynthia’ was not an English vessel at all?”