“I think I do,” said Horne Fisher, “and before I go on to more extraordinary things I will, say what I think.  Squire Hawker played both the bigamist and the bandit.  His first wife was not dead when he married the Jewess; she was imprisoned on this island.  She bore him a child here, who now haunts his birthplace under the name of Long Adam.  A bankruptcy company promoter named Werner discovered the secret and blackmailed the squire into surrendering the estate.  That’s all quite clear and very easy.  And now let me go on to something more difficult.  And that is for you to explain what the devil you are doing kidnaping your born brother.”

After a pause Henry Fisher answered: 

“I suppose you didn’t expect to see me,” he said.  “But, after all, what could you expect?"’

“I’m afraid I don’t follow,” said Horne Fisher.

“I mean what else could you expect, after making such a muck of it?” said his brother, sulkily.  “We all thought you were so clever.  How could we know you were going to be—­well, really, such a rotten failure?”

“This is rather curious,” said the candidate, frowning.  “Without vanity, I was not under the impression that my candidature was a failure.  All the big meetings were successful and crowds of people have promised me votes.”

“I should jolly well think they had,” said Henry, grimly.  “You’ve made a landslide with your confounded acres and a cow, and Verner can hardly get a vote anywhere.  Oh, it’s too rotten for anything!”

“What on earth do you mean?”

“Why, you lunatic,” cried Henry, in tones of ringing sincerity, “you don’t suppose you were meant to win the seat, did you?  Oh, it’s too childish!  I tell you Verner’s got to get in.  Of course he’s got to get in.  He’s to have the Exchequer next session, and there’s the Egyptian loan and Lord knows what else.  We only wanted you to split the Reform vote because accidents might happen after Hughes had made a score at Barkington.”

“I see,” said Fisher, “and you, I think, are a pillar and ornament of the Reform party.  As you say, I am not clever.”

The appeal to party loyalty fell on deaf ears; for the pillar of Reform was brooding on other things.  At last he said, in a more troubled voice: 

“I didn’t want you to catch me; I knew it would be a shock.  But I tell you what, you never would have caught me if I hadn’t come here myself, to see they didn’t ill treat you and to make sure everything was as comfortable as it could be.”  There was even a sort of break in his voice as he added, “I got those cigars because I knew you liked them.”

Emotions are queer things, and the idiocy of this concession suddenly softened Horne Fisher like an unfathomable pathos.

“Never mind, old chap,” he said; “we’ll say no more about it.  I’ll admit that you’re really as kind-hearted and affectionate a scoundrel and hypocrite as ever sold himself to ruin his country.  There, I can’t say handsomer than that.  Thank you for the cigars, old man.  I’ll have one if you don’t mind.”