"Flory," said Edith to the boy that afternoon, "you did see the men at work upon the sluices that afternoon?" "I didn't," said Florian. "We all believe that you did." "But I didn't." "You may as well listen to me this once. We all believe that you did--papa and I, and Frank and Ada; Peter believes it; there's not a servant about the place but what believes it. Everybody believes it at Headford. Mr. Blake at Carnlough, and all the Blakes believe it." "I don't care a bit about Mr. Blake," said the boy. "But you do care about your own father. If you were to go up and down to Galway by the boat, you would find that everybody on board believes it. The country people would say that you had turned against your father because of your religion. Mr. Morris, from beyond Cong, was here the other day, and from what he said about the floods it was easy to see that he believed it." "If you believe Mr. Morris better than you do me, you may go your own ways by yourself." "I don't see that, Flory. I may believe Mr. Morris in this matter better than I do you, and yet not intend to go my own ways by myself. I don't believe you at all on this subject." "Very well, then, don't." "But I want to find out, if I can, what may be the cause of so terrible a falsehood on your part. It has come to that, that though you tell the lie, you almost admit that it is a lie." "I don't admit it." "It is as good as admitted. The position you assume is this: 'I saw the gates destroyed, but I am not going to say so in evidence, because it suits me to take part with Pat Carroll, and to go against my own father.'" "You've no business to put words like that into my mouth." "I'm telling you what everybody thinks. Would your father treat you as he does now without a cause? And are you to remain here, and to go down and down in the world till you become such a one as Pat Carroll? And you will have to live like Pat Carroll, with the knowledge in everyone's heart that you have been untrue to your father. They are becoming dishonest, false knaves, untrue to their promises, the very scum of the earth, because of their credulity and broken vows; but what am I to say of you? You will have been as false and perfidious and credulous as they. You will have thrown away everything good to gratify the ambition of some empty traitor. And you will have done it all against your own father." Here she paused and looked at him. They were roaming at the time round the demesne, and he walked on, but said nothing. "I know what you are thinking of, Flory." "What am I thinking of?" "You're thinking of your duty; you are thinking whether you can bring yourself to make a clean breast of it, and break the promises which you have made." "Nobody should break a promise," said he. "And nobody should tell a lie. When one finds oneself in the difficulty one has to go back and find out where the evil thing first began." "I gave the promise first," said Florian.