But you remember that affair of Lufton's,
when he came to you at your hotel in London and was so angry about an
outstanding bill."
"I know that he was very unreasonable as far as I was concerned."
"He was so; but that makes no difference. He was resolved, in his
rage, to expose the whole affair; and I saw that, if he did so, it
would be most injurious to you, seeing that you had just accepted
your stall at Barchester." Here the poor prebendary winced terribly.
"I moved heaven and earth to get up that bill. Those vultures stuck
to their prey when they found the value which I attached to it, and I
was forced to raise above a hundred pounds at the moment to obtain
possession of it, although every shilling absolutely due on it had
long since been paid. Never in my life did I wish to get money as I
did to raise that hundred and twenty pounds: and as I hope for mercy
in my last moments, I did that for your sake. Lufton could not have
injured me in that matter."
"But you told him that you got it for twenty-five pounds."
"Yes, I told him so. I was obliged to tell him that, or I should have
apparently condemned myself by showing how anxious I was to get it.
And you know I could not have explained all this before him and you.
You would have thrown up the stall in disgust.
Pages:
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598