THE UNSPEAKABLE GENTLEMAN
pening already, Jason. I am going to tell the story.
My uncle moved convulsively to his feet, and his voice was sharp and malignant.
"Do you suppose anyone will believe you?" he cried. "Do you fancy they will take your word against mine?"
"We will try it," said Mr. Lawton. "There are still people who wonder why Shelton stooped to the thing: you accused him of. We certainly will try it"
"And if you do," said my uncle, "I will show it was she who did it—that it was she who urged him on. I tell them! D'you hear me? I'll tell them, and they'll take my word for it. They'll take my, word!"
"God!" cried Mr. Lawton. "So that's the reason! So that's the trick you played. You dog! If I had only known"
His face had become blanched with passion, and my uncle staggered back before his upraised_hand, but Mr. Lawton did not strike. For a moment he stood rigid, and when he spoke he had regained his self-control.
"You will never tell it, Jason," he said slowly, and then he turned to my father, and inclined his head very gravely, and his voice was no longer harsh and strident.
[249]
