"Thank you, Mr Simpson," said Richard, coldly, as he thought of his cousin and the money; "I have no reason for exchanging my tailor. Greatly obliged to you for calling." "No trouble, sir; no trouble--a pleasure, as one may say. I thought I'd bring all the patterns as I was coming. Then shall we settle that other little bit of business, sir, at once? Some other time, p'raps, you may be able to give me a line." "What other business?" said Richard, flushing a little. "That little affair of the money, sir." "I have nothing to do with Mr Mark Frayne's affairs," said Richard, warmly. "Oh, sir, don't say that to a poor tradesman, sir!" said the tailor, shaking his head reproachfully, as he reopened the little handbag and drew a flat bill-case of large size from among the cards of patterns. "Mr Mark said if I would make it a bit easy, and drew at three, six, and nine, you would put your name to the paper, and there would be no more trouble." "My cousin had no right to say such a thing to you!" cried Richard. "Oh, sir, don't say that; it's such a little amount to a gentleman! I have drawn it in three bills, a heighty and two fifties--hundred and heighty! Why, it ain't worth thinking about twice for a gentleman like you! Ha, ha, ha! it's like making three bites of a cherry!" "How much?" said Richard. "Total, hundred and eighty-three--five--six, with the stamps, sir," said the tailor, producing three slips of blue paper. "My cousin said he owed you only about eighty pounds!" cried Richard. "For clothes, sir," said the tailor, with a deprecating smile. "The hundred was the cash advanced to oblige you, sir, as a gentleman." "What!" "The hundred I advanced for you two, Sir Richard." "For us two? My good fellow, I had none of the money." "Oh, sir, don't say that!" cried the tailor, reproachfully. "Of course, I know that gents wants a little money extry sometimes, and that it's a tradesman's dooty to help and oblige a customer if he can; and I did." "But--but--" "Don't, sir; please don't--you hurt me! I respect Mr Mark Frayne very much; but you can't know him without seeing as he's a bit too free with his money, and I should never have dreamed of letting him have it if it hadn't been for you, sir." "It was not for me!" cried Richard, who was regularly roused and indignant now. "I have nothing whatever to do with my cousin's debts." "Oh, sir, please don't! I have not come for the money now, though it would be very convenient, for wholesale houses objects to waiting. There you are, you see! You have only to sign the three bits of paper, and there'll be no more trouble for you at all." "But, look here," cried Richard, angrily, "you are insinuating that I received part of this money!"