human
Poor fellow!--poor fellow! exclaimed John, when the other had come to an end.
gpt
The temptation was a great one, and he was unable to resist it. He was tried beyond his strength, as it may be the lot of any of us to be. It was very wrong of him, not merely to keep back what he knew, but to swear to an untruth; but he is gone where his faults and his virtues will be weighed in the balances which cannot err, and Heaven forbid that I should attempt to blacken his memory by a single word. So, if you please, Mr. Clement, you and I will keep the poor fellow's confession to ourselves. It could do no possible good at this late date to make it public.
human
I have told John Brancker everything, or next to everything, he began abruptly.
gpt
I could no longer reconcile it to my conscience to keep him in ignorance of what was of such vital concern to him.
human
I felt nearly sure that you would be guilty of some such fool's trick, was Edward's stern rejoinder. Then he added, with a sneer,
gpt
I hope you will be able to reconcile the article you call your conscience to the disgrace and ruin which will inevitably result from your mad action. The thought of your mother and sister might have restrained you, if nothing else had power to do so.
human
Neither disgrace nor ruin will result from what I have done, answered Clem, quietly.
gpt
John Brancker will make no use of what I have told him. Except to his sister, he will breathe no word of it to a living creature.
human
If it be as you say, he presently remarked,
gpt
It is as I say. I have his word for it.
human
Ah! said Edward, with an indrawing of his breath.
gpt
You can hardly realize what a weight you have lifted off my mind. It meant more to me than even you are aware of, that both the manner and the cause of our father's death should never be divulged. You said just now that you had told John Brancker 'next to everything.' May I ask what you meant by that particular phrase?
human
I told him nothing which would lead him to infer that the facts of the case had become known either to you or me until quite lately. Then, again, I said nothing to him of what Ephraim Judd saw through the fanlight.
gpt
They were wise omissions on your part. Then, as if he were thinking aloud, he exclaimed,
human
A noble-hearted fellow!
gpt
What a pity it is that he can get nothing to do, observed Clem.
human
I suppose that he and his sister and his niece are living on his savings; but that is a sort of thing which can hardly go on for ever.
gpt
An idea has just come to me, replied Edward,
human
One thing more remains to be done,
gpt
Eh? And what may that be, pray?
human
The refunding of the twelve thousand pounds insurance money.
gpt
Good gracious, Clem! Have you taken leave of your senses?
human
I trust not. I am simply proposing to right a great wrong. I can quite understand that at the time you accepted the money you saw no other course open to you without exciting suspicions which you would have had no means of allaying except by making public a secret which it seemed to you must be concealed at every risk. It seems to me, however, that there is a way of getting out of the difficulty, and that without endangering your--or, as I may now call it, our--secret in any way.
gpt
I have no objection to being enlightened, remarked Edward, dryly.
human
But pray don't forget that this is a matter in which your mother's and sister's interests are more deeply concerned than those of anyone else.
gpt
That is a point I have by no means overlooked. In the first place, there need be no difficulty about refunding the money. Let it be divided into two or three sums, to be forwarded at intervals from different places. Of course, the sender would remain strictly anonymous. Then, as regards my mother and Fanny. They need never be made aware of the return of the money. The income which now accrues to them from its investment must continue to be paid with the same regularity as heretofore, the only difference being that you and I between us must make up the amount.
human
You are, of course, in a position to allow your mother and sister two hundred and forty pounds a year out of your income, which is about what your share would come to,
gpt
As circumstances are with me now, it would leave me with a very narrow margin to live upon, he replied;
human
What about your marriage? I hope you don't forget that the burthen you propose saddling yourself with is not merely a question of a year or two, but of the lifetime of your mother, who, we have every reason to hope and believe, may live for many years to come.
gpt
As for my marriage, it would have to be put off till more prosperous times,
human
Very well; but there is another feature which you may not, perhaps, have considered. Supposing the twelve thousand pounds to have been refunded in accordance with your wish, in the case of my mother's death, how would you propose to make up Fanny's one-third share of it to which she is entitled by my father's will? She may be married before that time, in which case the four thousand pounds she supposes herself to be ultimately entitled to will naturally be considered, both by her and her husband, as a certainty which nothing can deprive them of.
gpt
That is a point which certainly failed to strike me, answered Clem.
human
But let me answer your question by asking another. Supposing the money not to have been refunded, in case of my mother's death would you be willing to touch your share of an amount to which morally you have no more right than has any of your clerks who are at work in the next room?
gpt
No, he said emphatically, after a pause;
human
I could have vouched for your answer beforehand, said Clem, with a smile of triumph.
gpt
Now that you have confessed thus much, it is impossible for you to stop there. You are as convinced as I am, my dear Ned, that the twelve thousand pounds must be refunded. As honorable men no other course is open to us. He looked at his watch, and then rose and pushed back his chair.
human
I find I have not another minute to spare, he said, as he gripped his brother's hand.
gpt
But now that we are agreed as to the main point at issue, the settlement of the details can be left till I see you next.
human
I have agreed to nothing,
gpt
As honorable men no other course is open to us,