"I never knew your father trust any one, Miss Julia, and I knew him before he went to King's Castor. We were clerks in the same office." "He trusted you," cried Julia indignantly; "and you deceived him, and he suffered for your wicked sin." She struck the mare with her whip, and it would have dashed off, but Crellock was smoothing her mane above the reins, and as they tightened they came into his hand, and he checked the little animal which began to rear. "Quiet! quiet!" cried Crellock fiercely; and he held the mare back with ears twitching and nostril quivering. "Let my rein go," cried Julia. "Wait a bit; I've a lot to say to you yet, my dear," cried Crellock indignantly. "Look here. Did your father say that?" "Yes; and you know it is true." "I say again, did your father say that to your mother?" "Yes," indignantly. "Then that's why she has always shown me such a stiff upper lip, and been so bitter against me. I wouldn't have stopped in her house a day, she was so hard on me, only I wanted to be near you, and to think about that day coming out of the prison. Well, of all the mean, cowardly things for a man to do!" "My father is no coward. You dare not speak to him like that." "I dare say a deal more to him, and I will if he runs me down before you and your mother, when I wanted to show you I wasn't such a bad one after all. It's mean," he cried, working himself up. "It's cowardly. But it's just like him. When that robbery took place before, he escaped and I took the blame." "Loose my rein!" cried Julia. "Man, you are mad." "See here," cried Crellock, catching her arm, and looking white with rage. "I'll take my part; but I'm not going to have the credit of the Dixons' business put on to my shoulders. I'm not a hypocrite, Miss Julia. I've done wrong, as I said before, and was punished. There, it's of no use for you to struggle. I mean you to hear. I want to stand well with you. I always did after you gave me that drink of water, and now I find I've been made out to be a regular bad one, so as some one else may get off." "Will you loose my rein?" cried Julia. "No, I won't. Now you are going to call out for help?" "No," cried Julia. "I'm not such a coward as to be afraid of you." "That you are not," he said admiringly, in spite of the passion he was in. "Now once more tell me this. I'll believe you. You never told a lie, and you never would. Is this a sham to back up your father?" She did not answer, only gave him a haughtily indignant look. "Do you mean to tell me you don't know that your father did all that Dixons' business himself?" "I know it is false." "And that I only did what he told me, and planted the deeds at the different banks?" "It is false, I tell you."