The attorney was particularly glad at this particular moment to ascertain that this, as he had before suspected, was Jaspar's belief, and that this belief had lulled him into security. He was not, however, so candid as to give expression to his sentiments on the subject. "Precisely so!" exclaimed the attorney, as though no shade of doubt or anxiety had crossed him. "The Chalmetta exploded her boiler." "Well!" "Both Miss Dumont and her troublesome lover were lost,--were they not?" "Yes." "And, if you had continued on board, you would probably have shared their fate." "Yes; but do you mean to say you blowed the steamer up? asked Jaspar, with a sneer. "Exactly so!" "Fool! do you expect me to believe such a miserable rigmarole as this?" "I hope you will, for it is strictly true," returned the attorney, convincingly. Jaspar looked incredulous, and resorted to the brandy-bottle, which seemed to bear the same relation to him that the oracle of Delphi did to the ancient Greeks. "You do not think me capable of _inventing_ such a story, I trust," said De Guy, seriously. "Ha! ha! ha! you have joined the church, haven't you, since we met last?" "I see, sir, you think, because I assisted you in your plans, that I have no honor, no conscience, no humanity. Why, sir, what I have done for you was only a duty which my religion demanded of me." "Your creed must be an original one!" replied Jaspar, with a sickly laugh. "It _is_ an original one. You thought yourself better entitled to your brother's property than this giddy girl. So did I; and it was my duty to see justice done. A matter of conscience with me, upon my honor." "Enough of this!" said Jaspar, sternly, for a joke soon grew stale with him. "Be it so; but remember the story is true." "And you did me the favor to blow up the steamer!" sneered Jaspar. "At the risk of my own life, I did. I bribed the firemen to crowd on the steam, and the engineers to keep down the safety-valve,--all under the excitement of a race, though with special reference to your interest." "Was this part of your creed, too?" "Certainly," and the attorney launched out into a dissertation of theology and kindred topics, with which we will not trouble the reader. Jaspar heard it not, for he was busy in considerations of a less metaphysical character. He was thinking of his present position, and of the overseer, whose step he heard on the veranda. "I see," said he, interrupting De Guy, "you have been my friend." This remark was the result of his deliberations. He might need the services of the attorney. "I expect my overseer on business in a moment," continued he, "and I should like to see you again, after he has gone. May I trouble you to step into this room for a few moments?" "Certainly," replied De Guy, who was congratulating himself on his success in conciliating the "bear of Bellevue," as he styled him among his boon companions.