Page:Paul Clifford Vol 2.djvu/325

Rh perhaps?"—and a momentary paleness crossed Brandon's swarthy visage:—"perhaps he may have been driven into dishonesty, in order to maintain himself!"

The informant replied with great naïveté, that "such a thing was not umpossible!" and Brandon then entered into a series of seemingly careless but artful cross-questionings, which either the ignorance or the craft of the man enabled him to baffle. After some time, Brandon, disappointed and dissatisfied, gave up his professional task, and bestowing on the man many sagacious and minute instructions, as well as a very liberal donation, he was forced to dismiss his mysterious visitor, and to content himself with an assured assertion, that, if the object of his inquiries should not already be gone to the devil, the strange gentleman employed to discover him, would certainly, sooner or later, bring him to the judge.

This assertion, and the interview preceding it, certainly inspired Sir William Brandon with a feeling like complacency, although it was mingled with a considerable alloy.

"I do not," thought he, in concluding his