Page:The Black Moth.pdf/324

 “Please, John! Please be still! Why should not Mr. Carstares speak?”

“You don’t know what he would do!” fumed Jack.

“In fact, Miss Beauleigh, Sir Miles and Andrew are completely in the dark,” drawled the Duke. “Shall I tell the tale, Richard?”

“Thank you, I shall not require your assistance,” was the cold rejoinder. “But I must ask you to be quiet, John.”

“I will not! You must n”

“That will do,” decided O’Hara, and placed a relentless hand over his mouth. “Go on, Carstares!”

“For the sake of Miss Beauleigh, I will tell you that seven years ago my brother and I went to a card-party. I cheated. He took the blame. He has borne it ever since because I was too much a coward to confess. That is all I have to say.”

Twas for that ye wanted to see me on Friday?’ shot out O’Hara.

Richard nodded, dully.

“Yes, I was going to tell you then.”

“H’m! I’m glad ye had decided to play the man’s part for once!”

With a furious oath Jack wrenched himself free and rounded on his friend.

“You take too much upon yourself, O’Hara!”

He rose unsteadily and walked to Richard’s side.

“Dick has told you much, but not all. You none of you know the reasons we had for acting as we did. But you know him well enough to believe that it needed very strong reasons to induce him to allow me take the blame. If anyone has aught to say in the matter, I shall be glad if he will say it to me—now!” His eyes flashed menacingly as they swept the company, and rested for an instant on O’Hara’s unyielding countenance. Then he turned and held out his hand to his brother with his own peculiarly wistful smile.