"I can answer that question at once," said Captain M----; "and you must forgive me for speaking, notwithstanding your message, my dear Dudley. I first knew that gentleman, Sir Arthur, in the quality of the Nameless Fisherman by the Nameless Lake. I afterwards had the pleasure of seeing him at the Government House, at Hobart Town, with his character cleared from all stain, and his name and honour as bright and proud as that of any gentleman in the land. I can testify that he received a pardon under the great seal, in consequence of being clearly proved innocent of an offence for which he had been wrongly condemned." "Then I have no farther business here," said Mr. Filmer, with perfect tranquillity of tone and look. "I could not be aware of the circumstances under which Mr. Dudley had returned; and I suppose that no one will deny I acted properly, in pointing out to the officers of justice a person whom I believed to have escaped from the due punishment of a great offence." "Stay one moment," said Dudley, "I have not yet done with you, sir. I have a charge to make against you, and a very heavy one." Mr. Filmer's face might turn a shade or two paler; for it is a difficult thing, when, through a long life, one has been acting a deep and criminal part, to see even the chance of exposure, and yet so rule the heart, that the blood will not fly back to it in alarm. Habitual success may do something; the confidence of tried skill and known power may do something likewise; and the custom of concealing emotion may still rule words, and tones, and actions, and even looks; but that subtle thing, whatever it is, which sometimes sends the warm stream of life rushing in an instant through every vein to the face, and at others, calls it suddenly back to the deep well of the heart, cannot be so commanded. The vagueness of a charge, too, does greatly add to its terrifying influence upon one who has been a hypocrite from the beginning. All his powers of mind, be they what they may, are but as a small garrison in a ruined fortress, attacked by a large army. Every evil act that he has committed, every false word that he has spoken, has made a breach in his own walls of defence. He knows not at what feeble and unguarded point he may be attacked, for he has himself raised up an innumerable host to assail him; his own crimes are his own enemies, and in proportion to their multitude must be his fears. Mr. Filmer did turn somewhat paler than he was before; but so calm was his whole aspect, that no one marked the change but Dudley and Edgar Adelon, whose keen eyes were fixed upon his face the whole time. "Well, sir," he said, turning towards his accuser, "I shall be very ready to hear and answer the charge, as I know it must be groundless; but will you allow me to suggest that it should be made at a later hour of the day. You are aware that I am an early riser, and I have not yet broken my fast. My appetite, too, is good, considering my years."