“All that can be said for Mr. Forley, ma’am, is, that he was just scrupulous enough to hide the child’s existence and blot out its parentage here, instead of consenting, at the first, to its death, or afterwards, when the boy grew up, to turning him adrift, absolutely helpless in the world.  The fraud has been managed, ma’am, with the cunning of Satan himself.  Mr. Forley had the hold over the Barshams, that they had helped him in his villany, and that they were dependent on him for the bread they eat.  He brought them up to London to keep them securely under his own eye.  He put them into this empty house (taking it out of the agent’s hands previously, on pretence that he meant to manage the letting of it himself); and by keeping the house empty, made it the surest of all hiding places for the child.  Here, Mr. Forley could come, whenever he pleased, to see that the poor lonely child was not absolutely starved; sure that his visits would only appear like looking after his own property.  Here the child was to have been trained to believe himself Barsham’s child, till he should be old enough to be provided for in some situation, as low and as poor as Mr. Forley’s uneasy conscience would let him pick out.  He may have thought of atonement on his death-bed; but not before—­I am only too certain of it—­not before!”

A low, double knock startled us.

“The messenger!” said Trottle, under his breath.  He went out instantly to answer the knock; and returned, leading in a respectable-looking elderly man, dressed like Trottle, all in black, with a white cravat, but otherwise not at all resembling him.

“I am afraid I have made some mistake,” said the stranger.

Trottle, considerately taking the office of explanation into his own hands, assured the gentleman that there was no mistake; mentioned to him who I was; and asked him if he had not come on business connected with the late Mr. Forley.  Looking greatly astonished, the gentleman answered, “Yes.”  There was an awkward moment of silence, after that.  The stranger seemed to be not only startled and amazed, but rather distrustful and fearful of committing himself as well.  Noticing this, I thought it best to request Trottle to put an end to further embarrassment, by stating all particulars truthfully, as he had stated them to me; and I begged the gentleman to listen patiently for the late Mr. Forley’s sake.  He bowed to me very respectfully, and said he was prepared to listen with the greatest interest.

It was evident to me—­and, I could see, to Trottle also—­that we were not dealing, to say the least, with a dishonest man.