L I E) RAFLY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS 
 
 823 
 
 W217b 
 
 v.l 
 
THE BANKERS OF ST, HUBERT, 
 
 AND OTHER TALES. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, 
 
 SYLVANUS WARD. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ilontion : 
 
 REMINGTON AND CO., 
 New Bond Street, W. 
 
 1883. 
 
 [All Rights Eeserved.] 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/bankersofsthuber01ward 
 
EERATA. 
 
 Vol. I. 
 Page 6 line 2, for fort read port. 
 » 68 „ 23, for land read island. 
 ,, 161 „ 13, for tolerable read tolerably. 
 „ 245 „ 8, for assented read assenting. 
 
 Vol. II. 
 „ 175 „ 4, for chiefly read cheaply. 
 10, for eye read eyes. 
 
 180 
 
 t7 
 
n5 
 
 U2/7i 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In writing the following tale, the Author has been actuated by 
 the twofold motive of exhibiting to his readers, through illustra- 
 tions drawn from real life, the very low standard of morality 
 which regulated the commercial business at St. Hubert in the 
 
 - earlier vears of the present century, and of bringing to their 
 
 •=> 
 
 ^ notice some of the peculiarities in the laws of that place. 
 
 )) 
 
 jp- He hoped that by thus calling public attention to the subject, 
 
 /> even through the medium of a mere ivork of fiction, he might be 
 
 J[j instrumental in some measure in bringing about a revision of the 
 
 /^ more obnoxious of the island enactments, and in thus removing 
 
 A'one of the chief impediments to the moral and material advance- 
 
 ; ment of a settlement which, under better laws and a different 
 
 /'system of administration, should become one of the most 
 
 p^ prosperous of the possessions of the British Crown. 
 
 i 
 
 J} 
 
THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 CHAPTER T. 
 
 ST. HUBERT: ITS POLITICAL AND SOCIAL 
 
 CONDITION. 
 
 Within comparatively a sliorfc distance from 
 the English coast lies the small but beautiful 
 island of St. Hubert. From its contiguity 
 to France, being only about twenty miles 
 distant, the natives of the island in manners, 
 habits, dress and language, possess more of 
 the French than the Eno-lish element ; 
 though, at the present time, the inhabitants 
 of Deliemont, its principal town, are mostly 
 of English extraction. Nearly all are 
 thoroughly conversant with the English 
 language. The settlers, so to speak, out- 
 number the native population of the island ; 
 yet in spite of all this, owing to the extreme 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
Z THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 tenacity witli which the latter continue to 
 cling to their political rights and traditional 
 customs, St. Hubert has very little about it 
 which would impress a stranger witli the 
 fact that he was in a country which for 
 upwards of eight centuries had been a depen- 
 dency of the British Empire. 
 
 The island is about thirty miles in circum- 
 ference, and is surrounded with rocks, which, 
 by rendering it difficult of access at all states 
 of the tide, have provided it with a natural 
 means of defence against external enemies, 
 and which proved of infinite service in those 
 frequent wars which were waged between 
 France and England up to the early part of 
 the present century. But no means of 
 defence, natural or artificial, can cope with 
 treachery from w^ithin. And, accordingly, 
 we learn from history that in 1781, under 
 the guidance of a traitorous pilot, the French 
 effected a landing in one of the numerous 
 b)ays of the island, surprised the guard in the 
 town of Deliemont, seized the person of the 
 governor, forced him to sign a capitulation 
 
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION. 6 
 
 and issue an order to the royal troops to 
 surrender. This, however, fortunately for 
 the honour of the British army, the 
 officer in command refused to obey. He 
 hurriedly collected his men, and attacked 
 the invading troops with a vigour they had 
 not anticipated, killed their leader, and 
 compelled the entire invading force to lay 
 down its arms. 
 
 The victory, however, of the royal troops 
 was not gained without a heavy loss on their 
 side, for their brave commander fell mortally 
 wounded in the short but desperate struggle 
 that terminated so gloriously for the English 
 arms. His memory still lives, however, in the 
 hearts of his countrymen as green and fresh 
 as ever, as the enthusiasm displayed at the 
 late centennial ce^^^r<2^Z(97z abundantly shewed. 
 Nor has art been wanting to immortalise the 
 hero's death, the battle of St. Hubert 
 having been made the subject of a well- 
 known historical painting by one of the lead- 
 ing artists of the day. 
 
 Few possessions of the British Crown have 
 
4 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 been so largely blessed by nature as the 
 island of which we write, the soil is remark- 
 able for its fertility, and the rich pasture- 
 lands enable the farmer to rear a breed of 
 cows, which for their symmetry and milk- 
 yielding capacity are said to be unrivalled,, 
 whilst the arable lands produce cereals, root 
 crops, fruits and yeo^etables of various kinds 
 in abundance some weeks before they can be 
 produced in England. 
 
 Since the beginning of the present century,, 
 and until within the last few years, St. Hubert 
 had continued to be the favourite resort of 
 many families and individuals whom health or 
 straitened circumstances had led to make it 
 their place of residence, either on account of 
 its mild and genial climate, or from motives of 
 economy. Since the introduction of steam com- 
 munication between the island and the coasts 
 of England and France it has gradually lost 
 its character for cheapness, and the number 
 of Eno-lish residents has been diminishing^ 
 from year to year. 
 
 Formingjasitoriginallydid, apartof the old 
 
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION. 5 
 
 ducliy of Normandy, St. Hubert has always 
 enjoyed a constitution of its own — an oli- 
 garchal form of government, with the King in 
 Council at its head : but althouo^h the 
 authority of the Imperial Parliament extends 
 to the island equally as to any other part of 
 the United Kingdom, it has rarely exercised 
 any direct interference with its internal 
 administration, but has tacitly suffered it to 
 ■carry on its legislation by its own officers. 
 The island, therefore, may be regarded as 
 being practically independent of the sovereign 
 power, save that all enactments of a per- 
 manent nature that are made by it re- 
 quire the sanction of the Queen in Council 
 before they can acquire the force of 
 law. 
 
 The local government is composed of fifty- 
 two persons, consisting of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, the Bailiff, or Chief Magistrate, 
 the twelve Jurats, or Judges of the Royal 
 Court, the twelve Rectors of the twelve 
 parishes, the twelve Constables of the twelve 
 parishes^ and fourteen Deputies, being one 
 
6 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 for eacli parish and two additional ones for 
 tlie town and fort of Deliemont. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Grovernor, who must be a 
 general officer, exercises supreme power in 
 all military matters, but in his civil capacity 
 his authority is almost nominal. He is 
 appointed by the Crown, and his tenure of 
 office is usually five years. 
 
 The Bailiff, or Chief Magistrate, is also 
 appointed by the Crown, and holds his office 
 for life. He is President of the Chief, or 
 Royal Court, and has a casting vote both 
 in civil and criminal cases when the votes of 
 his assessors — the Jurats — are equal. 
 
 No special training or acquaintance with 
 the modes of procedure in either theEuglish 
 or French law court^i is required in the holder 
 of this highly important office. 
 
 The twelve Judges are elected by the 
 suffrages of the people, and hold office for 
 life ; and as in the case of theh^ President, 
 so in theirs, no special qualification is needed 
 for the responsible post they fill. 
 
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION". 7 
 
 The twelve Rectors are appointed by the 
 Crown, and hold office for life. 
 
 The Constables, twelve in number, one 
 for each parish, are elected bj parochial 
 suffrage. 
 
 And lastly, the fourteen Deputies, one for 
 each of the country parishes and two for the 
 town, are elected by the votes of the inhabit- 
 ants. 
 
 The several offices above enumerated con- 
 stitute what is termed "The States," or 
 Council General of the island, whose chief 
 business it is to discuss and frame laws, pro- 
 vide the necessary funds for the public service, 
 examine and audit the public accounts, and 
 generally to give their attention to all such 
 matters as may concern the welfare of the 
 people. 
 
 The Royal Court is divided into two 
 tribunals, the upper and the lower. The 
 members of the former are selected from the 
 twelve Jurats with the Bailiff, who acts as 
 President ; the lower, or inferior Court, con- 
 
8 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 sists of the Bailiff and at least two Judges ; 
 and tlie upper, or superior Court, of at least 
 seven Judges, with the President. From the 
 latter tribunal an appeal lies to the Privy 
 Council. 
 
 Such is the clumsy machinery by means of 
 which the civil and criminal administration 
 of the island of St. Hubert is carried on. The 
 people have been so long accustomed to their 
 peculiar institutions and modes of procedure 
 that they are not desirous to have any change 
 introduced, even though the change were for 
 the better. It needs no argument to prove 
 how unsatisfactory is the present state of 
 things, and how greatly it would tend to the 
 benefit of the community at large if the 
 system of administration now in force could 
 be more assimilated to that of the parent 
 country. We might venture to indicate one 
 or two out of mau}^ changes, the intro- 
 duction of which would be a blessing to the 
 country. 
 
 As already stated, no special legal training 
 or acquaintance with the procedure of either 
 
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION. 9 
 
 the Frencli or English law courts is required 
 in the case of a candidate for the office of 
 Jurat of the Royal Court. It is obvious, 
 however, that the ends of justice would be 
 better served, and a better administration 
 secured, were a definite legal qualification 
 insisted upon, as in England, in the holder 
 of so responsible a post as that of a civil and 
 criminal judge. The judicial functions of 
 the Jurat on the Bench and his senatorial 
 duties in the States are hardly compatible. 
 These duties, if separated, would be dis- 
 charged with more independence and justice 
 than when united, as at present, in the same 
 individual. 
 
 The law relating to real property might be 
 advantageously altered, so as to allow pur- 
 chasers of such property, in certain cases, to 
 dispose of the same by will. The present 
 law invests the States with the power to dis- 
 pose of. real and landed property on the death 
 of the owner according to a fixed and 
 arbitrary rule, which is not unfrequently 
 -opposed to the known wishes and intentions 
 
10 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 of tlie person who acquired tile property. 
 This acts, and must always act, as a dis- 
 couragement to foreigners to purchase real 
 property in the island. 
 
 Passing from the political to the social 
 aspect of the settlement, nothing impresses 
 the stranger more forcibly on landing at St. 
 Hubert than the joyous, light-hearted air 
 which seems to animate everything and every- 
 body around bim. It is not the sense of 
 relief he feels on a^^ain standing on terra 
 firma, after making one of the roughest 
 passages, perhaps, in the British Channel, 
 that leads him, as he gazes on the scene 
 before him, to regard it in too favourable a 
 lio-ht, and attribute to it characteristics which 
 do not belong to it. Oh ! no ; for whatever 
 his mood may be, the blue sky, the balmy 
 air, the bright eyes of the pretty girls * that 
 throng the pier, the jaunty air of the men 
 who attend them, and the careless gaiety of 
 
 * An old Latin writer in describing the cities of Belgium, extols 
 the beauty of the Girls of Bruges, " Gaudet formosis puellis Burga." 
 He never wrote a history, we suspect, of St. Hubert, or the- 
 beauty of its women could hardly have escaped his notice. — Ed. 
 
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION. 11 
 
 the people in general, all combine to tell liim 
 lie is in a new land, where the chief end and 
 aim of life is to amuse and be amused. In 
 fact, this is a characteristic feature of the 
 place, for nine-tenths of those who compose 
 what is termed " the society" at St. Hubert 
 have no fixed occupation — their sole amuse- 
 ment is to saunter about, '' to see and be 
 seen." 
 
 Everybody being on an equality with his 
 neighbour (for nobody is rich), there are few 
 of those disputes about precedence or other 
 petty jealousies which tend to disturb the 
 current of social life elsewhere. Not that 
 society here enjoys a complete immunity 
 from all disturbing influences — far from it ! 
 Eivalries exist, and always will exist, between 
 the imported beauties and the virgins of the 
 soil; nor can we blame the latter for not 
 taking so kindly as they might do to their 
 English sisters, particularly if they should 
 be likely to carry off some matrimonial prize 
 for which the former had been ano-linof lono: 
 in vain. 
 
12 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Although some few of the island families 
 affect a certain degree of exclusiveness, and 
 decline visiting even those who may have 
 been specially recommended to them ; still, 
 as a rule, nothing is easier than to get into 
 society at St. Hubert. Indeed, there are 
 some who think that the facilities with which 
 a person of either sex can be floated is a 
 serious evil, and may be regarded as one of 
 the chief causes which have given to the 
 island the unenviable notoriety it enjoys, of 
 being one of the /a5^^5^ places in Her Majesty's 
 dominions. 
 
 There is a story current that a few years 
 since a stranger happened to be yachting in 
 the neighbourhood, and desirous of testing 
 the truth of the rumour which had assigned 
 to the society at St. Hubert a character for 
 accessibility that was not quite warranted by 
 the etiquette of the day, resolved to give a 
 ball to which he would invite all the elite of 
 the place, and though personally unknown to 
 the entire community he offered a heavy bet 
 that on the appointed day all the beauty and 
 
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION. IB 
 
 fashion would be there to grace the festivities. 
 The bet was taken, and though the notice was 
 an unusually short one, the stranger won his 
 wager, having gathered round him more than 
 a hundred and fifty of the elite of the island. 
 A visitor need not be a week in the island 
 without having abundant proof that the 
 appellation of fast has been fairly earned by 
 the denizens of St. Hubert, both male and 
 female. Let him repair to the Victoria 
 Gardens some fine day when the band plaj^s^ 
 to the archery ground or croquet field, attend 
 a subscription ball, or drop in at one of those 
 afternoon tea-drinkings at the fort, and if he 
 be a man of any observation he will be satis- 
 fied of the truth of what we say, and at no 
 loss to understand the secret of those frequent 
 marriages which are so common a feature of 
 the place. He would see at one and all of 
 these social gatherings an assemblage of as 
 pretty women as are to be seen in any part of 
 the world, and not only having pretty faces,, 
 but dressed with taste and in a style which 
 would not discredit even Paris itself. 
 
14 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Some of these are old stagers, who have seen 
 their fourth, fifth, or even sixth season, yet 
 still bearing the bloom of youth and beauty 
 on their cheek— thanks to the incomparable 
 climate in which they dwell — and full of con- 
 fidence and hope, despite the attractions of 
 others younger and more beautiful than 
 themselves. 
 
 These are generally the fastest in the ranks 
 where almost all are fast, they know the 
 importance of the stake for which they play, 
 and they feel as year after year rolls on, and 
 their siren charms have failed as yet to 
 secure them a prize in the great matrimonial 
 race, that the day must soon come when their 
 beauty and their tactics, even when aided 
 to the utmost by a clever experienced 
 mamma, will be exercised in vain. Still, 
 though, when placed in this critical position, 
 there are some few who are equal to the emer- 
 gency, some few, who gifted with the faculty 
 of discovering the vulnerable point in the 
 object of their attack, have succeeded in 
 
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION. 15 
 
 •carrying off the prize from a younger and 
 prettier competitor than themselves. 
 
 It is most amusinof to watch one of these 
 ■veterans anghng for a catch in the shape of a 
 regimental officer — for here, as elsewhere, the 
 scarlet coat forms the principal target for the 
 bows of these island belles. 
 
 The scene is a military ball ; the fair 
 angler already knows every officer in the 
 regiment ; she has been introduced to them 
 all ! at least to all the dancing men ; she has 
 met one at the croquet club, another at the 
 archery ground, a third at Mrs. B.'s picnic, 
 .and so on. There is no need then for her to 
 manoeuvre for partners, she is already en- 
 gaged six deep, and is now being led off to 
 her first dance by Captain G , who pos- 
 sesses £800 a year besides his pay, and is 
 justly regarded as an eligible of the first 
 •order. 
 
 She is certainly a beautiful creature ! and 
 the look of proud and almost defiant triumph 
 •which she casts upon the rows of neglected 
 
16 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 beauties who are seated by tbeir mammas, 
 hoping against hope to be asked to dance, 
 heightens her many charms, and gives ad- 
 ditional animation to her face. 
 
 Mark how she puts forth her utmost 
 powers of pleasing, as leaning on her 
 partner's shoulder, she looks unutterable 
 things from out her deep blue eyes. He must 
 indeed be the most hardened of misogamists 
 who should escape unscathed from so un- 
 equal a contest I 
 
 The siren has found the weak point in the 
 armour, the shaft has been well directed, and 
 she is now assured of victor3^ But the game 
 is not yet played out, a little more skilful 
 manoeuvring on her part, and she is led to 
 supper by her still hesitating admirer. Then I 
 comes tlie champagne ! and just one tura or i 
 two in the conservatory to get rid of the heat of 
 the supper room — and then ! well what then ? 
 the fatal word is spoken, and one more cap- ] 
 tive is cauo^ht in the meshes of these dan* ' 
 gerous island beauties. j 
 
 But the triumphs of the fortunate nyirph 
 
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION. 17 
 
 are not yet ended, she must be married, as is 
 the custom, at the fashionable island church, 
 and with all the eclat and ceremony due to 
 the occasion. Eis^ht bridesmaids at least 
 must form the nuptial suite, and thus at- 
 tended, and with the church filled to over- 
 flowing by her own particular friends and the 
 crowds of strangers who, on these occasions, 
 flock to see the spectacle, then, and not till 
 then, is the measure of her happiness com- 
 plete. And when the supreme moment of her 
 felicity arrives, as with every eye upon her, 
 and with the full consciousness of her 
 beauty, she sails to the altar with the prize 
 she has won, few, we believe, could fail to re- 
 alize or even envy a triumph so complete ! 
 
 VOL. I. o 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 SILAS CRAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 
 
 In an obscure fisTiing village of the island we 
 liavebriefly sketched, there lived about seventy 
 or eighty years ago an humble individual by 
 name Silas Craig; he was a miller by trade, as 
 was his father before him, and by industry and 
 thriftiness he had gradually amassed suffi- 
 cient money to secure a comfortable inde- 
 pendence for himself and his wife, and pro- 
 vide a liberal education for their only child, 
 Matthew. 
 
 Silas's weak point, if ambition can be 
 deemed a weakness, was a desire to raise the 
 social position of the Graigs through his son, 
 by elevating the latter above the station in 
 which he was born, and making him a gentle- 
 man ; nor was this all, it was the oft- 
 expressed wish and the burden of his daily 
 prayer that ere the Lord should please to take 
 Mm, he might live to see Matthew clothed in 
 
SILAS CRAIG A:ND HIS SON MATTHEW. 19 
 
 the scarlet robe, and filling the proud posi- 
 tion of a Jurat. And he lived to see the 
 realization of his hopes. 
 
 It may be as well again to remind the 
 reader that this high office is open to every 
 native of the soil without reference to the 
 question of birth or other qualification ; 
 Silas was fully alive to this fact, and had 
 spared no expense in the education and 
 training of his son. The latter was naturally 
 apt at learning, he soon took a prominent 
 position at the school in which he had been 
 placed, and both there and elsewhere was 
 looked upon as a lad of great promise. 
 
 On quitting school he had been sent to 
 Paris to finish his education, and after three 
 years stay in that capital had returned to his 
 native isle with an enlarged experience of life, 
 and, as he was vain enough to believe, with 
 a thorough knowledge of jurisprudence. 
 
 Imbued thoroughly with all his father's 
 ambitious hopes and designs, he had entered 
 warmly into the former's cherished project 
 that he should make a name for himself in his 
 
20 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 native land, and as a first step towards doing- 
 so he had, shortly after his return from 
 France, offered himself as a candidate for a 
 vacant deputyship in one of the parishes, and 
 was returned by a large majority. 
 
 In his personal appearance and general 
 bearing Matthew Craig strangely belied his 
 plebeian origin, for he was eminently hand- 
 some, and his well-formed head and Grecian 
 features would have led one to seek his de- 
 scent from among the patrician families of 
 England rather than from among the bour- 
 geoisie of a country village in a small and 
 comparatively unknown island. 
 
 But though nature had been lavish of her 
 gifts in respect to his personal endowments, 
 she had not been so in regard to his moral 
 attributes, for his handsome features, bland 
 smile and courteous address served but to 
 conceal the many bad qualities of his nature. 
 Had any proper effort been made by the 
 parents to correct this evil tendency in their 
 child in early life, something might have been 
 
SILAS CEAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 21 
 
 done to improve Ms disposition and modify 
 the hardness of his heart. 
 
 But, unfortunately, Matthew's mother was 
 a weak-minded woman, and in her foolish 
 fondness she was led to indulge every whim 
 and fancy of her wayward child. The father, 
 in his turn, was too absorbed in watching the 
 development of his son's intellectual facul- 
 ties, to take much if any thought about his 
 moral qualities. 
 
 Thus, up to the age of ten or more, 
 Matthew had grown up with all the evil pro- 
 pensities of his nature strengthened and 
 confirmed in him through their habitual in- 
 dulgence, and the absence of any controlling 
 influence to keep them in subjection. 
 
 At the age of twenty-five he had married 
 the younger of two daughters of a Swiss 
 gentleman by name Simonet, who, on the 
 death of her father, some months before, had 
 succeeded to one of the finest properties in 
 the island, called Les Tourelles, as also to 
 the whole of his personal estate which was 
 valued at several thousand pounds. 
 
22 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 She was remarkable for her beauty, which 
 was of that dehcate and almost transparent 
 type that bears upon it the impress of its own 
 decay, and is so often found allied with that 
 most fatal of diseases — consumption. 
 
 Greatly to the disappointment of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Craig no issue had followed their union, 
 but they had supplied the want of a family of 
 their own at a later period, by adopting the 
 two orphan sons of Mrs. Craig's elder sister, 
 who had recently died abroad, and whose 
 marriage with one Dubois, a Roman Catholic 
 of low origin and doubtful character, had 
 never been forgiven by the father. 
 
 Among the acquaintances Matthew Craig 
 had made at school was a lad of about his 
 own age, but of a superior social position to 
 his own, by name Gresley. Similarity of 
 tastes had drawn the youths together from the 
 first, and the friendship commenced at school 
 had subsequently ripened into an intimacy of 
 the closest and most confidential kind. 
 
 This youth was gifted with considerable 
 shrewdness, a pleasing address, and a re- 
 
SILAS CRAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 2B 
 
 markable aptitude for figures — qualities 
 which had led to his appointment about a 
 year before his friend's marriage, to the post 
 of managing director of one of the principal 
 banks at Deliemont, with which he was 
 already connected, and of which his father 
 was also a director. 
 
 The subject of the investment of his wife's 
 fortune in some manner that should bring it 
 more under his own control, had not ceased 
 to occupy Mr. Craig's thoughts from the 
 time, when through his marriage, he had ac- 
 quired a direct interest in the disposal of his 
 wife's money, and having expressed an 
 opinion to his friend Gresley that the bulk of 
 her fortune which was then in *' the funds,' ^ 
 might with greater advantage be invested in 
 one or other of the local banks, the latter at 
 once perceived how greatly such an arrange- 
 ment would tend to strengthen the position of 
 the bank with which he was connected. 
 Aware, therefore, of the influence he pos- 
 sessed over his friend, he resolved to exert it 
 to the utmost in order to get him to obtain 
 
24 THE BANKERS OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Mrs. Craig's consent to lier money being sold 
 out of the funds and reinvested in shares of 
 the Alliance Bank ; nor did he find mucli 
 difficulty in the execution of his purpose. 
 
 All parties indeed seemed pleased with the 
 arrangement; to the bank it gave the command 
 of a large sum at a time wlien it was greatly 
 needed to enable it to prosecute certain 
 speculations in which it was then engaged ; 
 and to Mr. and Mrs. Craig it was equally 
 satisfactory, as it secured them a high rate of 
 interest in a concern wliose affairs, according 
 to the directors' reports, were in an exceed- 
 ingly prosperous condition. 
 
 So matters went on for some time, wlien a 
 vacancy occurring in the directorate tlirough 
 the death of Mr. Gresley, senior, Mr. Craig 
 was invited to fill the vacant post, a proposal 
 whicli he was induced to accept, subject to 
 the condition that the bank should thence- 
 fortli assume tlie desisfnation of Craio^ and 
 Gresley, and that he should be nominated chair- 
 man^ Mr. Gresley continuing as at present to 
 discharge the duties of manager — his (Mr. 
 
SILAS ORAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 25 
 
 Craig's) public engagements — he had been 
 recently elected a Jurat, not permitting him 
 to attend to the details of the bank's increas- 
 ing business. 
 
 The other directors gave a tacit consent 
 to this important proceeding, which was ar- 
 ranged entirely between the manager and the 
 chairman elect. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to remark that the 
 principles on which the business of the 
 Alliance Bank had been conducted in the past 
 was no secret to Mr. Craig, and that it was 
 well understood between him and his friend 
 'Gresley that the same principles were to re- 
 gulate the management in the future. 
 
 Both men were largely imbued with the 
 passion of speculation, in the indulgence of 
 which neither had ever suffered himself to be 
 restrained by any scruples of morality or the 
 ruin it might occasion to others. 
 
 They had long been in the habit of using 
 the bank's funds in various ventures of their 
 own, which, fortunately for them, had gene- 
 rally turned out well. We say theijy for 
 
26 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 though Craig, until recently, was only a cus- 
 tomer of the bank, there had for some years 
 been a secret understanding between him and 
 the Gresleys that he could always draw upon 
 the Alliance Bank for any amount he might 
 require, and it was equally understood be- 
 tween them that no transaction of any 
 magnitude or any fresh speculation should be 
 entered into by the manager without Craig's 
 consent and approval having been asked and 
 obtained. 
 
 It may appear strange in an establishment 
 occupying so high a position in the com- 
 mercial world as the Alliance Bank, and for 
 the conduct of whose business and the pro- 
 tection of whose interests there was a duly 
 constituted board of directors, that a power 
 so absolute as that enjoyed by the manager, 
 should have been delegated to any one in- 
 dividual, however great his efficiency, or un- 
 doubted his integrity. 
 
 The gentlemen who composed the direc- 
 torate of the above bank, however, had 
 never deemed it a part of their dutj to ex- 
 
SILAS CEAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 27 
 
 amine the bank's books, attend the weekly 
 board-meeting prescribed bj the articles of 
 association or exercise the slightest control 
 over the proceedings of the general manager. 
 Thus the latter, from the day of his appoint- 
 ment, had had it very much his own way as 
 regards the direction of the bank's affairs. It 
 is at the same time but fair to him to state 
 that from the date of his nomination as mana- 
 ger the bank had enjoyed uninterrupted 
 prosperity. 
 
 Gresley and his colleague Craig were each 
 adepts in dissimulation, and what was re- 
 markable they had resort to the same hypo- 
 critical means in order to blind the world in 
 regard to their true characters. They affected 
 to be inspired with the deepest reverence for 
 religion^ not merely by paying the utmost 
 outward deference to its observances, but by 
 deeds of charity, which they were careful, 
 however, that the world should not be left in 
 ignorance of. So well, too, did each support 
 the character he assumed, that no one had 
 the faintest suspicion that all their apparent 
 
28 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 liumility and assumption of godliness was but 
 a cloak to conceal their utter selfishness and 
 want of principle. 
 
 Among the customers of the Alliance Bank 
 before Mr. Craig had joined the board, was a 
 relative of his, a widow by name Le Bas. She 
 was a person of good education and remark- 
 able for her piety and benevolence in the 
 district where she lived, and between her 
 and her kinsman, Matthew, there had always 
 existed a very friendly feeling, so much so, 
 that since her husband's death it was to him 
 she had been accustomed to look for counsel 
 and assistance in any time of trouble or 
 difficulty. 
 
 It was to him the widow applied for 
 advice as to tlie most advantageous way of 
 investing the money she had come into at the 
 death of her husband ; it was to him she had 
 subsequently entrusted the duty of settling her 
 son in the profession — that of the army — for 
 which his father had destined hira, and it was 
 to him she had handed over the whole of her 
 little capital for reinvestment in shares of 
 
SILAS CRAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 29 
 
 a French railway, whilst in a spirit of implicit 
 confidence in his honour, it was to him she 
 had surrendered the certificates of those 
 shares for deposit in the Alliance Bank, but, 
 unfortunately, without taking his or the 
 bank's receipt for the same. 
 
 For the first few years all went smoothly 
 and well with the widow and her son, she re- 
 ceiving her income from the bank with un- 
 failing regularity, and her son's educational 
 expenses being discharged with the same 
 scrupulous punctuality. At length the ne- 
 cessar}^ studies of the latter completed, and 
 the qualifying examination passed, his mother 
 received directions to lodge the price of her 
 son's commission at the usual office in 
 London. 
 
 To enable her to do this, it would be 
 necessary, as she knew, to sell a portion of 
 her railway stock. She accordingly instructed 
 the bank to sell the required number of 
 shares ; but to her infinite surprise and dis- 
 may she was informed on the following day 
 by the manager that after a most careful 
 
20 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 searcli he had failed to discover any trace 
 whatever in their books of any French rail- 
 way stock standing in her name, and alleged 
 to have been deposited with them by her some 
 years before. 
 
 On her reasserting her claim, as she 
 promptly did in the presence of her kinsman, 
 and appealing in support of it to the fact of 
 her having hitherto received with regularity 
 the interest on her investment, the latter dis- 
 claimed all knowledge of any such invest- 
 ment, adding that if any railway or other 
 security had been deposited by her, she 
 would doubtless have taken a receipt for the 
 same, and that it would be time enough for 
 them to notice a claim of the kind when the 
 party putting it forward, was enabled to 
 produce the bank's acknowledgment of the 
 certificates allesred to have been lods^ed with 
 them. That he was fully aware — he went on 
 to say — that on the death of her husband she 
 had deposited the bulk of her fortune with 
 the bank, for which she had received a high 
 rate of interest ; but as in each succeeding 
 
SILAS CRAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 31 
 
 year, she Lad drawn largely on lier capital, it 
 should occasion her no surprise to learn that 
 Tery little of that capital now remained, cer- 
 tainly not enough to meet the cost of a regi- 
 Tnental commission. 
 
 The shock produced on the widow's mind 
 at finding herself thus suddenly reduced to a 
 state of destitution, and with all her hopes of 
 her son's advancement in life for ever blasted, 
 through the unparalleled baseness of the man 
 she had so long and so implicitly trusted, was 
 more than she could bear up against, and in 
 less than a month from the date of the dis- 
 covery of her kinsman's villany she was 
 carried to her grave, and laid side by side 
 with her husband in the churchyard of Beau 
 Rivage. 
 
 As to her unfortunate son, overwhelmed as 
 he was by the twofold loss of mother and 
 fortune, his mind had given way, and he had 
 been lodged in the lunatic asylum of Ste. 
 Marie, where he remained during five years, 
 when he was discharged as cured. But 
 though for several months prior to his re- 
 
32 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 lease Louis Le Bas had been outwardly calm^ 
 and his conversation and demeanour perfectly 
 rational, there was nevertheless an inward 
 fire still smouldering in the young man's 
 bosom which it needed but a mere spark to 
 set in a blaze. 
 
 Owing, however, to the scrupulous care 
 which had been taken whilst he was an in- 
 mate of the asylum, to avoid any allusion to 
 the occurrences of his past life, nothing had 
 happened to fan the hidden flame. Bat no 
 sooner had he regained his freedom and re- 
 turned to the cherished haunts of his early 
 home, no sooner did he find himself standing 
 under the ivy-clad porch of his mother's 
 cottage, with his eyes resting upon the 
 familiar scenes of his boyish days, than the 
 recollection of his own and his mother's 
 wrongs came rushing like a flood across his 
 mind. The whole scene was re-enacted in 
 all its terrible reality; his poor ruined, death- 
 stricken parent stood once more before him I 
 and beside her, the despoiler of her fortune^ 
 her false perfidious kinsman, Matthew Graig t 
 
SILAS CRAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 33 
 
 As the young man continued to dwell upon 
 the ideal picture his heated imagination had 
 conjured up, the fire burnt with increased 
 intensity within him, till at length, wrought 
 to a pitch of frenzy, he wrenched off one of 
 the wooden supports of the porch, and rushed 
 from the spot with but one thought filling his 
 mind, that of inflicting a full and summary 
 vengeance on the man who had so deeply 
 wrono^ed him. 
 
 Bent on this design he had hurried onward 
 in the direction of the road he knew the 
 banker must take in order to reach his home 
 after the work of the day was over. In about 
 half an hour he reached the road in question, 
 and in the belief that the person of whom he 
 was in quest had not yet passed, he took up 
 his post behind a high bank which in this 
 part of the road divided the highway from 
 an adjoining field, and there quietly awaited 
 his approach. 
 
 Presently the sound of wheels broke on his 
 ear, when, peeping forth from his hiding 
 
 VOL. I. D 
 
84 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 place, he saw the man he was waiting for, 
 driving leisurely along the road, and seated 
 beside him a second person, whom he quickly 
 recognised as oue of the subordinate officials 
 of the bank, by name Parker. 
 
 Having waited till the pony chaise had 
 arrived within a few yards of the spot where 
 he was standing, he suddenly leapt into the 
 road, seized the horse's bit with one hand, 
 throwing the animal almost on his haunches 
 by the violence of the movement, and with 
 the other and before the pony could recover 
 itself, he dealt a heavy blow at the banker's 
 head which caused him to lose his balance 
 and fall into the road ; then darting upon his 
 prostrate foe he grasped him by the throat, 
 shouting in a voice of concentrated fury — 
 
 '* The shares, the shares ! give them back, 
 or by the memory of her you murdered I'll 
 strangle you ! " 
 
 Nor is it unlikely he w^ould have made 
 good his threat had not Parker, who had 
 been ineffectually endeavouring till then to 
 stop the frightened pony, sprung from the 
 
SILAS CRAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 35 
 
 chaise and come to his master's aid. Nor did 
 he arrive one moment too soon, for under 
 the powerful grasp Le Bas retained upon his 
 throat the banker's face had turned quite 
 livid, as he lay vainly struggling to free 
 himself from the iron grip of his young and 
 vigorous assailant. With a promptitude and 
 decision which alone could have averted a 
 fatal issue to the contest, Parker seized the 
 young man's throat with both his hands and 
 thus forced him to relax his hold of the 
 banker — and now the strus^o-le was trans- 
 ferred from the master to the servant. 
 Both were powerful men, and but for the 
 arrival of a third party on the scene it is 
 hard to say how it would have terminated. 
 The new-comers — a father and son — proved 
 to be relations and neiorhbours of Mr. Craio^, 
 who were returning home from market, 
 when seeing two men struggling together on 
 the road, whilst a third was lying apparently 
 insensible a few paces off, they hurried on 
 and reached the spot whilst the issue of the 
 contest was still undecided. 
 
36 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 The first step tliey thought it prudent to 
 take after they had succeeded in parting the 
 combatants, in order to provide against any 
 further violence on the part of the maniac, 
 who was well known to them, was to pinion 
 him. This done, partly by force and partly 
 by persuasion, they induced him to mount 
 the cart, and then the whole party (for by 
 this time the banker had sufficiently recovered 
 to be able to resume his journey) leisurely 
 proceeded towards the farmhouse of M. Le 
 Brocq, the owner of the cart, who had pre- 
 viously volunteered to take charge of Le Bas 
 till his relations should decide the question of 
 his future destination. 
 
 The banker's chief motive in accompany- 
 ing the party to Le Brocq's house instead of 
 proceeding home, was in order to concert 
 measures with the latter for Le Bas's removal 
 to the lunatic asylum at Hauteville — a small 
 inland town on the opposite coast of France 
 — for he had already decided in his own mind 
 that neither in the interest of the young man 
 
SILAS CEAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 37 
 
 himself nor his own was it desirable that he 
 should return to Ste. Marie. 
 
 Nothing in Mr. Craig's character was more 
 remarkable than the power he had of concen- 
 trating his mind on any given subject, so 
 that, though still labouring under considerable 
 bodily and nervous agitation from the violence 
 to which he had been subjected, he was 
 capable nevertheless of calmly considering 
 the incident that had just occurred in all its 
 various bearings and determining the course 
 to be pursued towards the youth who had so 
 nearly succeeded in taking his life. Whilst 
 deciding to proceed to his kinsman's farm he 
 was not unmindful of the danofer he mio^ht 
 be exposed to, through a fresh outburst of 
 fury on the part of Le Bas. He had, there- 
 fore, taken an opportunity to whisper to the 
 elder Le Brocq that he and his servant 
 Parker would join them somewhat later in 
 the day. 
 
 " Well, neighbour," said the farmer, as he 
 helped the banker out of his pony chaise an 
 
38 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 hour or two afterwards, " I tliink he will do 
 now ; lie's as quiet as a lamb." 
 
 " He's not anywhere near, is he ? " 
 whispered the other. 
 
 *' No fear, he's far enough off, taking tea 
 in the parlour with the wife and children ; 
 he won't disturb us in here," and the farmer 
 opened the door of a small room at the back 
 of the house, and motioned his companion 
 to go in, adding, as he closed the door, '' It's 
 only on that one topic of the French railway 
 that we find him at all queer, Matthew. Oa 
 every other he's as rational as you or I." 
 
 '' Just so ; but on that particular subject,, 
 unfortunately, the delusion is stronger than 
 ever — a fact of which we have had pretty con- 
 elusive evidence to-day." 
 
 " There's no denying that, I admit, but it 
 might have been worse had we not come up 
 when we did; there's no saying what 
 mischief he might have done had we not been 
 there to help." 
 
 " I believe you, Dan ; for Parker, strong as 
 ho is, was no match for that young madman."' 
 
SILAS CRAia AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 39 
 
 " I had hoped lie was rid of all those silly 
 delusions before he got his discharge,'' con- 
 tinued Le Brocq, *' but as he has broke out 
 again there's nothing for it, T suppose, but 
 to send him back ag^ain to Ste. Marie." 
 
 " Not to Ste. Marie ! " said the banker, 
 ''that's not the place for him now — ^he won't 
 get well there ; he must have a thorough 
 change of scene — he must leave the island." 
 
 '' But where to send him to. Matt ? " 
 
 " Wiiere to him send to ! Why, where could 
 we better send him than across the water to 
 Hauteville ? They've got the best-managed 
 institution there in all Europe, and if he 
 can't be cured there he can't be cured any- 
 where." 
 
 '' That's not a bad idea of yours," said the 
 farmer musingly. " He'd get a complete 
 change over there, if that's the treatment 
 for him — and likely enough it might cur a 
 him." 
 
 " I have no doubt it would," said the 
 banker. " So with your approval I'll write 
 to Fardell to send me the usual forms. He's 
 
40 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 an old acquaintance — I knew him years ago 
 when I was in Paris." 
 
 "Do so, by all means ; and meantime, as 
 the lad is so tractable he had better remain 
 where he is." 
 
 " Certainly, Daniel; there's no place 
 where he would be so comfortable and so 
 well looked after. Of course, you would be 
 careful to make no allusion to his attack 
 upon me, or to any subject that would 
 awaken old associations." 
 
 '' Oh, trust me for that ; it would be like 
 applying a torch to a barrel of gunpowder ! 
 No, no ; we shan't touch upon any such 
 subjects, Matt, you may rely upon that." 
 
 '* I mentioned this," returned the other, 
 *' in case he should bes^in to talk about those 
 railway shares, you might be put off 
 your guard and allow him to go on till 
 he had worked himself up into a state of 
 frenzy." 
 
 '' I see ; but you need have no fear, well 
 stop him at once should he commence upon 
 that subject." 
 
SILAS CEAIG AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 41 
 
 " Now about getting him across the water 
 — how had we best manage that ? Could 
 vou contrive to take him over yourself?" 
 
 *' There's no great reason why I shouldn't. 
 I did intend sfoino^ to France next month to 
 buy a couple of horses for the farm, and it 
 wouldn't put me very much out if I were to 
 go a little sooner." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say so ; and you 
 don't suppose Le Bas would make any diffi- 
 culty about going, do you ? " 
 
 " No ; why should he ? " 
 
 " Because," said the other, " men who are 
 iifflicted as he is are generally so suspicious'^ 
 
 '' That's quite true. Matt ; but as he has 
 taken so kindly to us all, I don't think he'll 
 make any objection if we keep him in ignor- 
 ance of our intentions.'' 
 
 " Then you will be ready to cross by the 
 next boat, perhaps ? " said the banker. 
 
 " Certainly ; I wouldn't delay an hour 
 longer than is necessary." 
 
 '' In that case, instead of sending to 
 Fardell by post, I'll write by you. You can 
 
42 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 bring back the forms for signature, and 
 draw on the bank for expenses." 
 
 " Very well, I'll attend to that when the 
 journey's over ; but anyhow, I'll send you 
 word when we get to Hauteville." 
 
 And there being nothing more to arrange, 
 the banker rose to depart, but on reaching 
 the door he paused for a minute, and then 
 said in a low voice — 
 
 " By the way, Dan, we had better say 
 nothing about this business to any one just 
 at present. It might interfere with our 
 plans about Le Bas if the police were to get 
 any intimation; they are always so fussy 
 and meddlesome, and would not believe that 
 though the young man has attempted my 
 life, I feel kindly towards him, and wish to 
 do the best I can for him." 
 
 " I'll tell my wife and son not to mention 
 the matter to any one till we give them 
 permission. I see the force of your objec- 
 tions. Matt. We had better keep the affair 
 entirely in our own hands, and steer clear 
 of policemen and lawyers — they're a trouble- 
 
SILAS CRAia AND HIS SON MATTHEW. 43 
 
 some, US eless lot, the both, and the world 
 would get on all the better without them." 
 
 Accordingly the affair was kept quite quiet 
 till after the young man had been safely 
 lodged in the asylum at Hauteville, and even 
 then all that transpired was that a serious 
 assault had lately been committed on the 
 person of Mr. Matthew Craig by a youth 
 who ha d been recently discharged from Ste» 
 Marie ; but what had become of the offender 
 nobody seemed either to know or care, and 
 the subject soon ceased to be talked about. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 a scene in tbe bank parlour of cr^ig and 
 
 gbeslet's. 
 
 "Whilst Mr. Craig was thus persecuting his 
 unfortunate relative, Louis Le Bas, the two 
 orphan boys, Jules and Claude Dubois, whom 
 he had adopted some years before, had arrived 
 at man's estate. Each had his profession in 
 life, the elder was well established as a 
 solicitor at Deliemont, and the younger was 
 a clerk in his guardian's bank. The young 
 men were totally unlike both in appearance 
 and demeanour, Jules, dark-featured, ill 
 made, and morose in speech and manner, 
 whilst Claude was of fair complexion, a com- 
 manding figure and pleasing address. The 
 same dissimilarity was observable in their 
 dispositions, the former being selfish and 
 unprincipled, the latter self-denying and 
 truthful. 
 
 Jules had all the legal business of the bank, 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PAELOUR. 45- 
 
 of course, and this was considerable ; indeed, 
 long before his guardian had promised him 
 this; at the same time explaining how de- 
 sirable it was that he should fill the post, as 
 from their family connection it might be ex- 
 pected there would be a more complete and 
 confidential understanding than could be the 
 case if a stranger were employed. When 
 therefore the young lawyer commenced 
 practice, and saw the way in which the bank's 
 affairs were managed, he soon discovered there 
 was a deeper meaning in his guardian's words 
 than he had been led at first to attach to 
 them. He saw that many of the transactions 
 of Craig and Gresley were of a very doubtful 
 nature, and such as any solicitor of reputa- 
 tion would have declined to take part in; 
 still, as these usually led to profitable results, 
 and as Jules Dubois never suffered scruples 
 of conscience to stand in the way of his pecu- 
 niary interests, he accepted all business which 
 the bank offered him. Whilst the elder brother 
 therefore, was unscrupulously but profitably 
 following his profession, the younger was by 
 
46 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 no means so well satisfied with bis position. 
 He had not been many months at Craig and 
 Gresley's before he discovered that the mode 
 of doinof business in that establishment was 
 not in strict accordance with the rules of 
 legitimate banking, that the accounts were 
 invariably in arrear, and so badly kept as to 
 be scarcely intelligible, and that the power 
 vested in local banks generally to issue an 
 unlimited number of notes was frequently made 
 use of by the chairman and general manager 
 without authority from their co-directors, and 
 occasionally without their knowledge. He 
 had also observed with concern that a con- 
 siderable portion of these unautliorised issues 
 had been appropriated to purposes of private 
 speculation, and other expenditure in which 
 the bank was in no way concerned, the only 
 vouchers given on the occasion of such with- 
 drawals being the borrower's I U, 
 
 Claude Dubois had gone on from month to 
 month a silent but sorrowful spectator of 
 these corrupt practices, condemning them in 
 his heart, yet lacking the moral courage to 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PARLOUR. 47 
 
 protest against tliem, or to resign liis clerk- 
 ship, rather than remain any longer a wit- 
 ness of them. "Whilst thus undecided an 
 incident occurred which induced him to bring 
 the subject to his brother's notice and to ask 
 his advice. 
 
 He was one morning at his desk, which 
 stood close to the chairman's private room, 
 when the general manager entered, and ap- 
 proaching the chairman's room went in, turn- 
 ing the handle of the door from the inside in 
 order to close it, but the bolt not catchmg 
 properly, the door reopened and remained 
 ajar without his being aware of it. After a 
 short pause Claude heard his guardian and 
 Mr. Gresley in earnest conversation, and his 
 position being so near the door, not a word of 
 the subject on which they were talking was 
 lost. 
 
 " There's a letter frooi Howell, I see, 
 about those bonds of Mangle's," began the 
 manager. 
 
 " Well, what about them ? ' ' asked the 
 chairman. 
 
48 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 "They say they'll sell tliem if our over^ 
 draft is not paid within a week." 
 
 "But we never gave them authority ta 
 sell," observed the chairman. 
 
 '' None was needed." 
 
 ''How so?" 
 
 «« Why, because when we sent up the bonds 
 we never told them whose they were, and 
 therefore they naturally supposed they were 
 ours." 
 
 "Well!" 
 
 " So,'' continued Gresley, " believing they 
 had these securities to fall back upon, they 
 made no difficulty, as you know, about the 
 last advance." 
 
 " Then, as we didn't tell Howell that the 
 bonds belonged to Mangles, you consider they 
 were justified in regarding them as security 
 for the last advance ? " 
 
 " Precisely, and that they are quite at 
 liberty to sell them should they think fit." 
 
 "Well, I'm not quite so clear upon that 
 point," replied the chairman. " What is tha 
 amount we owe them ? " 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PAELOUR. 49 
 
 " Twelve thousand, without reckoning the 
 interest." 
 
 " And we must pay the whole next week 
 or they'll sell the bonds ! That's the position, 
 is it ? " 
 
 *' Just so; nor do I see any way out of the 
 difficulty, do you ? " 
 
 "Not exactly, so I suppose the bonds must 
 go. 
 
 "That, of course; but how about the 
 balance ? " 
 
 " Oh, as to that we needn't feel uneasy ; 
 they'll be sure to give us time when they've 
 realized the bonds ; and if matters come to 
 the worst, we could always raise a few 
 thousands upon the bank's guarantee." 
 
 " We have that to fall back upon, cer« 
 tainly," said the manager, '' but it would 
 be better not to pledge the bank, if the 
 money could be got elsewhere." 
 
 " Most decidedly, yet if the Granite venture 
 and the Winter Garden scheme should fail, 
 we should be forced to use the bank's credit, 
 and pretty freely too." 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
hO THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 '' Time enough to talk of that when thej 
 do fail ; at present the prospects are excellent." 
 
 " By the way, is Mangles aware that his 
 securities were sent to London ? " asked the 
 chairman, helping himself to a pinch of snuff. 
 
 " Of course he is ! Why, you must surely 
 remember his telling us he shouldn't feel com- 
 fortable till they were lodged with Howell." 
 
 ''Ah, to be sure, I had forgotten — my 
 memory, as you know, is not what it used to 
 be before my accident." 
 
 8oQie three or four years before this Mr. 
 Craiof had fallen from one of the cliffs in the 
 neighbourhood of Les Tourelles, and had so 
 seriously injured himself that, for several 
 days his life was in danger, and when he did 
 recover sufficiently to be able to resume his 
 public duties, it was remarked that his mental 
 powers, and his memory especially, had suf- 
 fered severely from the effects of the accident. 
 
 " Has Mangles opened an account at 
 Howell's or is he in the habit of callinof 
 there? " pursued the chairman. 
 
 " I fancy not, at least I never heard him 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PARLOUR. 51 
 
 speak of having an account with any London 
 bank." 
 
 '' Then you don't think he would be likely 
 i:o be asking any troublesome questions about 
 the bonds, so long as he got the interest as 
 usual?" 
 
 " Not at all likely ; at all events, if he 1 
 
 wanted information he would naturally apply ' 
 
 to us in the first instance — don't you think 
 
 so ? " 
 
 I 
 
 '^ Undoubtedly ! So I think we need be 
 under no uneasiness about the bonds. And 
 now about our answer to Howell ! " 
 
 ^^ Answei^ to Howell f repeated Gresley, 
 in a tone of unaffected surprise. " There's no 
 need for any answer ! " 
 
 " What ! no answer at all ? You can't be 
 serious, surely ?" 
 
 '' Not a line. We can't pay the overdraft, "' 
 
 and we can't stop the sale of the bonds. ! 
 
 What's the use of writing ? " i 
 
 " Not much use, I admit," returned the : 
 
 chairman, '' but as we must write in a day or ' 
 
 two to say how we propose to pay the balance, \ 
 
 UNlVtRSlTY c 
 
 ... 1 lODfl 
 
52 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 I tliouglit we miglit jusfc as well write at 
 once." 
 
 " Nothing of the kind, mj dear fellow, we 
 mustn't think of writing^ till the bonds are 
 sold, for if we write before we should be 
 giving an implied sanction to their sale." 
 
 " I see what you mean," slowly returned 
 the other, who was beo^innino: to realize the 
 importance of leaving Howell's letter un- 
 answered ; '' yes, we had better not reply till 
 the stock is sold, and when we do write we 
 need not allude to their present letter." 
 
 " Of course not, rely upon it that is the 
 only course we can take." 
 
 " And now about Le Bas, have you any late 
 news of him?" asked the manager. "I 
 hope everything's going on satisfactorily ? " 
 
 " Perfectly," replied the chairman, " he 
 gives no trouble, and in consequence they 
 allow him more liberty than he used to 
 have." 
 
 "That's not quite prudent or safe for us," 
 remarked the manas^er, " but of course we 
 have no control over the authorities, and 
 
A SCENE m THE BANK PAELOUR. 53 
 
 cannofc make any suggestion as to tbeir treat- 
 ment of any particular case." 
 
 " Of course not/' said the other, " though 
 as long as we can keep him on the other side 
 of the water he will not be likely to trouble 
 us." 
 
 " Perhaps not," said Gresley, doubtingly, 
 ^' but rely upon it if that young fellow ever 
 gets loose again we shall have the same 
 trouble over again, perhaps more. I am 
 certain that he will never drop that affair of 
 the railway shares whilst he is alive." 
 
 And with these words the manager walked 
 out of the bank parlour. 
 
 As he passed by the desk at which Claude 
 was seated he looked up at the latter, and 
 observing the death-like pallor of his face, 
 exclaimed, '' Why, Claude, what's the 
 matter? " 
 
 '' Oh, nothing ! " gasped the young man, 
 •" only a touch of the old faintness, I shall be 
 better when I get into the air," and he made 
 a movement in the direction of the door. 
 
 " You had better go into the parlour, 
 
54 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 Claude, till you are better, Mr. Craig is 
 there." 
 
 " No, no," returned the young man, with 
 a shudder, ** I shall be better outside ; there, 
 I'm all right now," as he opened the outer 
 door and the cool air came rushing in upon 
 him from the square. 
 
 The threatened fit had in fact passed off, 
 and, as was usually the case, without leaving 
 any trace of it on the sufferer's face ; he had 
 been subject to fainting fits from childhood, 
 and though they were not so frequent as 
 formerly, they were still liable to recur when- 
 ever his mind was unduly agitated. 
 
 And what a crowd of painful feelings came 
 rushing through the young man's mind on 
 finding himself alone and in a condition to 
 recall the conversation which he had just 
 overheard ! 
 
 Fully aware as he had been that both his 
 guardian and the manager had long been in 
 the habit of using the bank's funds for their 
 own speculations, and were guilty of other 
 malpractices besides, still he had never 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PARLOUR. 55 
 
 thouglit SO ill of either as to suppose them 
 capable of committing so flagrant a breadi of 
 trust as that involved in their recent pro- 
 ceeding's relative to Mr. Mangles' bonds. 
 And what, he asked himself, should be his 
 duty now ? How ought he to act in the 
 painful circumstances in which he was placed? 
 Was he to remain silent, and thus become a 
 consenting party to the fraud his guardian 
 and the manager had just committed ? In 
 order to screen the former was he tacitly to 
 suffer ruin to fall upon an innocent indi- 
 vidual, who in a spirit of unsuspecting con- 
 fidence in the bank's integrity, had been led 
 to entrust to its care the chief portion of his 
 earthly substance ? 
 
 These were the questions which agitated 
 Claude, as he slowly paced the open square 
 that fronted the bank, nor had he much 
 difficulty in answering them. He knew it 
 was his duty to go at once to his guardian,, 
 and apprise him of the fact that he was aware 
 of the conversation which had passed be- 
 tween him and the manager relative to their- 
 
56 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 customer's bonds, and to insist that thej 
 should be made good to the rightful owner 
 within a given time, as the condition of his 
 silence in reference to that nefarious transac- 
 tion. Nor ought he to stop there ! He felt 
 it to be his duty at once to withdraw from an 
 establishment which was controlled by two 
 such unprincipled men as Craig and 
 Oresley. 
 
 Still though Claude had a perfect convic- 
 tion of what his duty was, he had not the 
 moral courage to act upon it. With every 
 dispoiBition to act honestly, and an innate 
 horror of anything like fraud or deception, 
 and ever ready to do what was right when he 
 could do it without entailing unpleasant con- 
 sequences on others, he was at the same 
 time, like too many others, devoid of the 
 necessary moral strength of character and 
 purpose to enable him to discharge any duty 
 which might prejudice the reputation or 
 wound the feelings of those he loved. 
 
 Therefore it was that he shrank from the 
 plain task that duty enjoined on this occa- 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PARLOUE. 57 
 
 sion, and making a compromise with liis 
 conscience, lie decided to say nothing to liis 
 guardian on the subject, but to communicate 
 to his brother instead, the painful facts which 
 had been brouQ:ht to his knowledo^e. 
 
 He was far from being satisfied, however, 
 with this decision, for between his brother 
 and himself, as he was well aware, there was 
 little or nothing in common, and none of those 
 little confidences which one usually finds 
 among brothers and sisters who are nearly of 
 the same ao^e. But as he could not brino^ his 
 mind to speak to Mr. Craig, and as it would 
 be too distressing to him to carry alone the 
 knowledge of his guardian's dishonesty, he 
 felt he had no alternative but to acquaint his 
 brother with what had happened. 
 
 '' I can't help thinking, Claude, you are 
 making more fuss about this matter of 
 Mangles' bonds than the case deserves," said 
 the elder brother, after listening^ to Claude's 
 account of what had passed in the bank 
 parlour. " Depend upon it, it will not prove 
 half so bad as you suppose." 
 
58 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " I don't see how it can well be worse, for 
 the bonds are as good as sold." 
 
 " Granted ! bat they're sure to be made 
 ofood aorain, and till then the bank will con- 
 tinue to pay the interest as usual, so that 
 Mangles can be no loser." 
 
 '' What guarantee has Mangles that the 
 bonds will ever be replaced?" inquired the 
 younger brother quickly. 
 
 *' What guarantee, Claude? Why, what 
 better guarantee could he have than the high 
 reputation the bank has enjoyed for the last 
 twenty years ? " 
 
 " But suppose from some unforeseen cir- 
 cumstance or another the bank was com- 
 pelled to suspend its payments, to whom 
 could Mangles look for the recovery of his 
 money ?" 
 
 " Why suppose a case so little likely to 
 occur, Claude, one so improbable as to be 
 almost absurd ! Why, the bank was never 
 in a stronger position than now — a fact of 
 which you must be well aware if you have 
 seen the last report.'* 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PARLOUR. 59' 
 
 " It matters little what the state of its 
 affairs may be, Jules, nothing could justify it 
 in pledging the property of its constituents 
 for advances made to the bank." 
 
 "I can't agree with you," returned the 
 lawyer, " for bonds and other securities 
 lodged with a bank are generally looked upon 
 as part of the working capital, and as such at 
 the disposal of the bank." 
 
 " You surely cannot mean what you say," 
 said Claude, amazed beyond measure at hear- 
 ing his brother give utterance to such a 
 doctrine. 
 
 "I'm quite in earnest, my good fellow, I 
 assure you," said the lawyer. '' Bankers 
 frequently make use of their customers' 
 securities, as occasion may require, always 
 retaining their responsibility to a customer 
 whose bonds they might chance to make use 
 of." 
 
 " I never heard of such a practice any- 
 where, and cannot credit it," returned the 
 other. " But even admitting the existence 
 of such a practice, Mangles' bonds were 
 
60 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 specially entrusted to the bank for safe 
 custody, and for their greater security were 
 directed by the owner to be sent to the 
 London firm, there to be kept till further 
 notice." 
 
 " That would not materially alter the 
 case," rejoined Jules. *' If the bonds should 
 be sold, as they probably will be, Craig and 
 Gresley will be responsible to the owner for 
 their value, and as they have not the slightest 
 intention of evading their responsibility, I 
 don't see that your making any stir in the 
 matter can do Mangles or the bank any good, 
 but on the contrary a great deal of mischief, 
 so my advice is just quietly to let matters 
 take their course. And to tell you the 
 truth," he continued, seeing his brother 
 adhered as strongly as ever to his own view of 
 the case, " I do not think it would be fair 
 to our guardian or the bank if you were to 
 publish to the world every proceeding which 
 might not chance to meet with your entire 
 approval. And as regards this matter of the 
 bonds, considering the clandestine manner in 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PARLOUR. 61 
 
 which the circumstances connected with it 
 came to your knowledge, I certainly think 
 you would not be justified in mentioning 
 those circumstances to any one without first 
 making known your intention to Mr. Craig." 
 
 *' There I quite agree with you, Jules, and 
 except to yourself I should not consider my- 
 self at liberty to mention the subject, without 
 first informing our guardian of my intention 
 to do so. But as our views are so utterly 
 opposed, it seems useless to prolong the dis- 
 cussion," and Claude rose to depart. 
 
 " One word more before you go," cried the 
 lawyer. " This is not the first time you have 
 expressed your disapproval of the managing 
 director's method of doing business; is it not 
 so .^ ^ 
 
 '* It is quite true. I have no wish to deny 
 it." 
 
 " Well, then, is it right to yourself, to say 
 nothing of your employers, to remain in the 
 service of an institution whose business is 
 conducted in a manner which you appear to 
 consider not strictly honourable ? Would not 
 
'62 THE r.ANKERS OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 any one who had any regard for his own 
 honour at once resign his post, rather 
 than continue to be a witness of transactions 
 which his conscience led him to condemn as 
 reckless and dishonest ? " 
 
 The suggestion conveyed in these ques- 
 tions chimed in exactly with Claude's own 
 feelings ; he had long wished to withdraw 
 from the bank if he could only do so without 
 leading his guardian to suspect his motives 
 for doing so. Catching eagerly, therefore, at 
 the idea so forcibly conveyed by his brother's 
 questions, he answered quickly — 
 
 '' I would resign to-morrow, Jules, if I could 
 find an excuse for doing so." 
 
 '^ Excuse ! What better excuse could you 
 have than the state of your health, to which 
 a life at the desk is wholly unsuited. Think 
 the matter well over, and tell Mr. Craig that 
 after several months' trial you find the life at 
 the bank does not agree with you." 
 
 ** I'll think it over as you advise, but it's 
 a serious step to take, and I must not decide 
 hastily." 
 
A SCENE IN THE BANK PARLOUR. 63 
 
 Jules Dubois liad never approved of his 
 brother being taken into the bank, for he had 
 foreseen that his high principles and abhor- 
 rence of anything like fraud would be a 
 source of trouble to his guardian and him- 
 self. 
 
 Mixed up as he was with several objection- 
 able transactions on behalf of the bank, lie 
 was alarmed lest his brother might make 
 disclosures which would bring Mr. Craig and 
 himself into serious trouble, and in the in- 
 terests of both he had foreseen the advisa- 
 bility of Claude's retirement from the bank. 
 But whenever he had hinted such a thino: to 
 their guardian, Mr. Craig had always stopped 
 him. 
 
 ISTow, however, that Claude had come to 
 his office and held the conversation described 
 above, Jules at once saw that the time had 
 arrived when the safety, if not the very ex- 
 istence of the bank, demanded that his 
 brother's connection with it should cease im- 
 mediately. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GEORGE SELBY AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 
 
 We must now introduce some of tlie otlier 
 actors in the drama. The scene is tlie break- 
 fast-room at Roseneatb — a small villa at St. 
 Asaplis in the neighbourhood of Mr. Craig's 
 estate of Les Tourelles. 
 
 A young lady of about nineteen is seated 
 alone at the breakfast table. She has made 
 the tea, and buttered the Frencli roll vrhich 
 forms the chief part of her father's morning 
 meal, and only listens for the sound of his 
 well-known footstep, to fill his cup and her 
 own. Whilst the young lady is waiting we 
 may as well give some particulars respecting 
 Mr. Selby, who is destined to take an im- 
 portant part in this history. 
 
 George Seiby was well bora and came of 
 an old and distinguished family in the north 
 of England ; but being a younger S3n, he, 
 like many others, had had to makj his own 
 
GEORGE SELBY AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 65 
 
 way in the world ; and if strict integrity 
 and untiring assiduity in business could alone 
 liave commanded success, he would liave been 
 a prosperous man. But whether it was that 
 the conjunction of tlie planets at his birth 
 was such as to deny him a smooth and suc- 
 cessful career in life, or whether the vices and 
 shortcomings of his ancestors had been visited 
 upon their descsndant, certain it is that he 
 had met with little else but disappointment 
 and disaster. 
 
 Fully alive to the fact that it must be to his 
 own exertions he would have to look for his 
 success in life, Greorge Solby had accepted 
 when quite a young man an offer to be taken 
 into one of those large mercantile establish- 
 ments in Calcutta, which, during the early 
 part of the present century so admirably re- 
 presented the commercial enterprise and 
 wealth of Great Britain. 
 
 In this capacity, through his natural 
 shrewdness and industry he had gained the 
 entire confidenca of his employers, and in 
 
 VOL. 1. F 
 
66 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 less than ten years fromliis first introduction 
 to tliem he had the proud satisfaction of 
 being admitted as a junior partner into the 
 firm. Nor did his good fortune end here ! 
 for havinof won the affections of the dauo^hter 
 of the head of the bouse, he, with the full 
 approval of her parents, had married her. 
 His subsequent career, however, was not des- 
 tined to be attended with the same success 
 that had marked its earlier stages. 
 
 He had been about twenty years in India, 
 and had laid the foundation of a handsome 
 fortune, when the memorable financial crisis 
 of 185 — occurred, which culminated, as 
 many will remember, in the downfall of most 
 of those princely establishments which so 
 long had be3n the pride and envy of the 
 commercial world ; among these was the 
 eminent firm with which Mr. Selby had been 
 so long connected. 
 
 Mr. Selby had honourably surrendered to 
 the creditors of the firm every sixpence he 
 laad ever derived from it, and then with a 
 courage which won him the admiration of all 
 
GEOEGE SELBY AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 67 
 
 around him be set himself resolutely to begin 
 life again with a comparatively small sum 
 which had been left him by a distant rela- 
 tive. 
 
 George Selby, however, was no longer 
 young, hard work and a tropical climate had 
 begun to tell on a constitution not naturally 
 robust. Still he worked on as he was wont 
 to do in his younger and more vigorous days, 
 till another more severe trial overtook him in 
 the death of his beloved wife. 
 
 This crushing blow falling on a frame 
 already weakened, brought about the inevita- 
 ble crisis. Mr. Selby's brain gave way ; 
 and in order to save his life he was ordered 
 home. 
 
 In this pitiable state his only wish was to 
 be laid in the grave beside his loved wife ; 
 but as his physical and mental health re- 
 turned under the combined influences of the 
 sea voyage and abstinence from work, other 
 and better thoughts took possession of his 
 mind, and he felt there were ties that stili 
 bound him to earth. 
 
68 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 He had children ! — a son and daughter, and 
 though the former had cost him many an 
 anxious thought, and had been a constant 
 drain on his slender resources, yet he was 
 older now, and wiser too he hoped, and might 
 still prove the joy and pride of his declining 
 days. 
 
 Thus hoped and prayed George Selby in 
 reference to his warm-hearted but thoug^ht- 
 less son, whom, after having placed in various 
 professions, he was now about to start again 
 with five hundred pounds to learn sheep- 
 farming among the Maories of New Zealand. 
 The father's prayer had not been offered up 
 in vain ! for within a year after his son's arrival 
 at his destination he received the gratifying 
 news that he was accounted one of the 
 steadiest young men in the district where he 
 lived. 
 
 After parting from the latter Mr. Selby 
 left London, and by advice of his physician 
 had gone with his daughter to reside at St. 
 Hubert, which land offered him the twofold 
 
GEORGE SELBY AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 69 
 
 advantage of a mild and genial climate and 
 a place of residence where the necessaries of 
 life were far cheaper than they were in Eng- 
 land. He was so pleased with the place that 
 after a year or two he had been induced to 
 buy the villa in which we find him now re- 
 siding, and which he purposed leaving to his 
 dauo^hter, tosrether with the remainder of his 
 little fortune, consisting of some Dutch 
 bonds and English railway shares of the value 
 of about £5,000, which, on his arrival in the 
 island, he had deposited with his bankers, 
 Messrs. Craig and Gresley. 
 
 " Of course you know, my dear," said Mr. 
 Selby, who had joined his daughter at the 
 breakfast table, over which she gracefully 
 presided, " that I purchased this house for 
 you and not for your brother — I have done 
 quite enough for Eobert, Heaven knows ! " 
 and a pained expression passed across his 
 face as he spoke. 
 
 " But have you the power to leave the 
 house to me ? " asked Miss Selby. 
 
70 THE BA.NKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " Have I the power ? What do you mean, 
 Kate ? I don't understand you,'' said her 
 father, surprised at the question. 
 
 " I may have been mistaken, papa, but I 
 understood Mr. Claude Dubois to say that 
 Eoseneath would go to Robert." 
 
 " Indeed ! I think you must have misun- 
 derstood him, for I can't suppose the 
 law is different here from what it is in Eno^- 
 land, or surely Mr. Jules would have told 
 me before drawing^ the contract. But what 
 more did his brother say ? " 
 
 '' Not much, papa. He said something 
 about the local custom, and made use of a 
 Latin term, something like primo — but I 
 don't know what it means." 
 
 " Primogeniture, perhaps," suggested her 
 father. 
 
 " Yes, that was the word, I recollect it 
 perfectly." 
 
 " And he told you this custom prevailed 
 here ? " pursued Mr. Selby. 
 
 " He said he supposed you wished to leave 
 the property to Eobert or you would have 
 
GEOEGE SELBT ATsD HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 71 
 
 bought it in my name, and not in your 
 
 own." 
 
 " Of course I bought it in my own name, 
 supposing I could do what I hked with it; 
 but if I can't leave it as I wish, the sooner 
 it is sold the better," returned Mr. Selby,, 
 greatly disconcerted by this unlooked-for 
 obstacle to his cherished wish of leavinof the 
 villa to his daughter. 
 
 '^ But why should you sell the place, papa,, 
 as it suits us both so wellr Why not let 
 Robert have it, if the law gives him the right 
 to it." 
 
 " No, no, my dear, that would not be- 
 just. You must have Roseneath, or if that 
 can't be, it must be sold. But I will see 
 Jules Dubois about it — he may know perhaps 
 some way of getting over the difficulty." 
 
 '' I wish you would consult some one else 
 instead of Mr. Jules," said his daughter very 
 gravely. 
 
 *« Why so, my dear ? " 
 
 '' I hardly know why, papa," she replied ; 
 " but I never liked Mr. Jules Dubois from 
 
72 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBKRT. 
 
 the first. It may be very wrong of me to 
 take prejudices; but I canaot help my feel- 
 ings." 
 
 " Very true ; but your feelings must not 
 lead you to be unjust. I have always found 
 Mr. Jules straio4itforward in his dealino^s 
 with me, and shall continue to employ 
 Mm." 
 
 Miss Selby made no reply, but changed 
 the subject by saying if he did not require 
 her she would go for an hour or two to Mrs. 
 Craig, as she had asked her to come over the 
 first mornino^ she was diseno^aofed. 
 
 '' By all means go, my dear," said Mr. 
 Selby, '' I like to encourage your intercourse 
 with Mrs. Craisf as I consider her a valuable 
 friend, and one from whom you can learn 
 nothing but what is good." 
 
 The lady referred to fully merited the good 
 opinion formed of her. She had won the 
 love alike of rich and poor by her gentle 
 manners and numerous unostentatious acts 
 of charity, not done in order to be seen of 
 men, but in secret, with no eye to Avitness 
 
GEORGE SELBY AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 73 
 
 them save that of Him '' who seeth in secret 
 and rewardeth openly." 
 
 From the first day of their meeting she 
 had taken a great fancy to Kate Selby, in 
 whose features and manner she traced, as 
 she tiiono'ht, a resemblance to her deceased 
 sister, whose early death was one of the 
 great griefs of her hfe. She had another 
 sorrow too in the mystery that hung over 
 the fate of her only brother Robert, who, 
 when at coUege, had quarrelled with his 
 father about his debts, and in a fit of passion 
 had quitted the paternal roof, vowing he 
 would never re-enter it till he could 
 bring along with him the means of repaying 
 the latter the whole amount his extravagance 
 had cost him. For some years after his flight 
 occasional tidino^s of him had reached his 
 family ; but they conveyed but little informa- 
 tion beyond the fact that he was still alive. 
 And as it was now nearly fifteen years since 
 any word had been heard of him it was the 
 general belief that he was no longer living. 
 
 Mrs. Simonet had died when her children 
 
74 THE BA'N^KEES OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 were too young to remember her, and Miss 
 Simonet, since the death of her sister, had 
 continued to live with her father up to the 
 time of his death, when, finding herself alone 
 in the world, her only near relative being a 
 wanderer in a distant land, she had been led 
 to accept the addresses of Mr. Craig, whose 
 handsome face and courteous manner more 
 than compensated in her eyes for the defect 
 of his humble orio^in. 
 
 With this brief sketch of Mr. Craig's 
 family we will leave Miss Selby to pay her 
 morning visit to that lady, whilst we accom- 
 pany her father to the office of Mr. Jules 
 Dubois. 
 
 '' I fear T have been somewhat hasty in 
 buying Roseneath, Mr. Jules," began Mr. 
 Selby, as he seated himself opposite the 
 lawyer, " if what I hear is correct, that I 
 have no power to devise that property by 
 will, and that by your island law it w^ould go 
 to my son. Is such the case ? " 
 
 '' Such is the law," returned the lawyer,, 
 playing with a pen he held in his hand, and 
 
GEOEGE SELBY AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 75 
 
 without looking up from the table at which 
 he was seated. 
 
 ''It's a pity then this was not explained to 
 me before you drew the contract," pursued 
 Mr. Selby. 
 
 " It certainly would have been explained 
 had you told me you contemplated a different 
 disposition of the property from what would 
 take place under the ordinary operation of 
 the law," returned Mr. Jules, still twiddling 
 his pen and looking down on the letter he 
 was writing when his visitor arrived. 
 
 " Indeed ! I thousfht I had mentioned it 
 was my intention to leave Roseneath to my 
 dauo^hter, and that I had bous^ht it with that 
 view," rejoined Mr. Selby. 
 
 Fully aware of what his client's intentions 
 were, yet remembering that they had only 
 been verbally communicated to him by the 
 latter, and not before witnesses, he felt that 
 he might safely meet Mr. Selby's last state- 
 ment by a denial, so he boldly answered — 
 
 " It is likely enough you may have purposed 
 telling me of your wishes; but that you did 
 
76 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 not clo SO I feel certain. Had you done so I 
 should at once have explained the peculiarity 
 of our law in regard to the disposal of real 
 property." 
 
 " Never mind, Mr. Jules," returned Mr. 
 Selby, completely deluded by the lawyer's 
 confident tone, '•' it was my fault no doubt. 
 I ought to have been more careful in explain- 
 ing my wishes ; but it can't be helped now, 
 and the only point we have to consider is 
 whether there is any way of getting over the 
 dijSicult}^ so as to obviate the necessity of 
 selling, for both my daughter and myself are 
 fond of the place." 
 
 " There's no necessity to sell," rejoined the 
 lawyer, for the first time looking his client 
 in the face. ''All 3^ou have to do is to 
 transfer the house to some friend who would 
 en2fao:e at your death to re-transfer it to Miss 
 Selby. The thing is done every day." 
 
 '' Indeed ! but would there be no risk in 
 such a proceeding ? " 
 
 *' None in the world ! The Cayenne pro- 
 perty was dealt with in tliat way, and is now 
 
GEORGE SELEY AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 17 
 
 held by a female branch of the family, to the 
 exclusion of the male line — and I could name 
 a dozen other cases besides." 
 
 " Then a transfer to my daughter's 
 guardian, Mr. Mackillop, might perhaps 
 meet the case, Mr. Jules ? " 
 
 ''Perfectly! Is the gentleman in the 
 island ? " 
 
 " No, but I expect him shortly." 
 
 '' Then if you would be kind enough to 
 call again after his arrival, and bring him 
 with you, the matter could be arranged at 
 once, and tlie con — tract prepared." 
 
 ''I will do so without fail," said Mr. Selby, 
 highly pleased at the prospect of getting the 
 matter so easily settled, and acting on his 
 lawyer's advice he called upon the latter a 
 few weeks after accompanied by his friend 
 Mackillop. A contract was then drawn by 
 Mr. Jules whereby in consideration of the 
 sum of two thousand five hundred pounds to 
 be paid to George Selby by the said Mackillop 
 Eoseneath was transferred to the latter and 
 his heirs in perpetuity, the transferee having 
 
78 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 previously signed a document, whicli was 
 witnessed by the lawyer and his head clerk, 
 setting forth the object for which the con- 
 veyance was made, and binding himself on 
 the death of the transferrer, to reconvey the 
 property to the latter' s only daughter 
 Catherine Selby. 
 
 " I think that conveyance of Selby' s ought 
 to bring some grist to the mill,'' said Mr. 
 Jules to himself with a chuckle, as he re- 
 viewed, some days later, the somewhat 
 doubtful transaction we have just described. 
 '' There will be some nice work come out of 
 that or I'm much mistaken ! Here, Dick, 
 reach me down the ledger," he continued, 
 addressing a sharp-looking lad of eighteen, 
 who was perched on a horse-hair stool in 
 front of a big desk that nearly filled one side 
 of the room. " There, that'll do," as he 
 took the book from the lad and commenced 
 turning over the leaves in search of Mr. 
 Selby's account. " Ah^ here it is ! seventeen 
 pounds ten shillings to the end of the quarter I 
 I thought it was more ! — only seventeea 
 
GEOKGE SELBT AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 79 
 
 pounds ten ! Are you sure nothing's been 
 omitted, Dick ?" 
 
 '' Quite sure, Mr. Jules. You said I wasn't 
 to enter the question about the coals, as you 
 thought Mr. Selby might object " (tliat 
 gentleman in one of his interviews with the 
 lawyer bad asked him what he considered a 
 fair price for coals). 
 
 '' Quite right, Dick, I did tell you to omit 
 that item, but not the one relating to his 
 personalty.'^'' 
 
 '' But he never asked any questions about 
 that, Mr. Jules, and you told me 1 was only 
 to make a charge when questions were 
 asked." 
 
 " You never will understand the principle 
 on which our business is conducted," gruffly 
 returned the lawyer. '' It matters not whether 
 Mr. Selby asked any questions or not about 
 his personalty ; he got certain information 
 from us on that subject — and all information 
 from this office I make it a rule to charge for 
 - — now do you see ? " 
 
 " YeSj sir/' was the prompt reply, *' I un- 
 
80 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 derstand now. If a client is told sometliiDg^ 
 he didn't know before you expect him to pay 
 for it whether he asked for the information 
 or not. Isn't that what you mean, Mr. 
 Jules ? " 
 
 '' Precisely, that's the principle on which 
 I have always acted, and it is a perfectly well 
 recoQ^nised one amono- the members of our 
 profession ; but I want to know what Mr. 
 Selby did say regarding his personalty. I 
 daresay you remember what he said." 
 
 The boy gave his employer a significant 
 nod as he replied — 
 
 " It was in answer to a question of yours, 
 Mr. Jules, about his friends, the Simpsons ; 
 Mr. Selb}^ said he had seen the General only 
 the day before, and that he was in great 
 trouble in consequence of his having dis- 
 covered that under the island law he couldn't 
 will away more than a third part of his 
 jpersonalty.^^ 
 
 " Well, and what more did Mr. Selby say ? " 
 
 " He said he had advised the General to 
 transfer his funded property into the names 
 
GEOEGE SELBY AND HIS DAUGHTER KATE. 81 
 
 of his cliildren in sucli proportions as he 
 might think fit — and he then added, turning 
 to you, sir, ' I gave the General good advice, 
 didn't I ? ' and you said, ' Very good advice 
 indeed, Mr, Selhy.' " 
 
 " A regular legal opinion that ! there can 
 be no possible doubt about it," said the 
 lawyer, '' aiid it must he charged for ! Stay, I 
 may as well give you the entry," and he 
 scribbled on a bit of paper the following 
 draft note, and gave it to the boy : — 
 
 £ s. d. 
 To consultations about the law 
 relative to personal property ... 1 1 
 
 To opinion as to advice given by 
 you to JMaj or- General Simpson in 
 the matter of his personal estate... 110 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
CHAPTER Y. i 
 
 CLAUDE RESIGNS HIS CLERKSHIP. 
 
 " Think the matter well over, Claude, and tell 
 Mr. Craig that, after several months' trial, jou 
 find the life at the bank does not agree with 
 you." 
 
 \Yith these words of Jules ringing in his 
 ears, Claude Dubois, after the interview with 
 his brother, had walked slowly homeward. 
 He usually drove home with his guardian, 
 but on this occasion he preferred to be alone, 
 with no companion but his own thoughts. It 
 ■was not the first time the idea had occurred 
 to him of throwing up his post at the bank 
 on the ground suggested by Jules, but he had 
 quickly dismissed it from his mind as un- 
 worthy of serious consideration. His health 
 he felt had not really suffered up to that time 
 from the sedentary life he led. Such a plea, 
 therefore, was an insufficient one ; but the 
 case was very different now ! He had had a 
 
CLAUDE RESIGNS HIS OLEEKSHIP. 83 
 
 sharp return of his old complaint that very 
 day in the office, under the eye of the 
 manager himself, and might now legitimately 
 plead that his further continuance in the 
 office would be prejudicial to his health. 
 
 There were other considerations besides 
 the affair of Mangles' bonds, which made 
 him desirous to leave the bank as soon as 
 possible. Enough had come to his know- 
 ledge during the brief period he had been at 
 Craig and Gresley's to satisfy him that the 
 confidence of the bank's customers had been 
 grossly and systematically abused, so much 
 so that their property was no longer safe. 
 
 In addition to the misappropriation by the 
 bank of the customers' securities, there were 
 apparently other crimes of even a more 
 heinous description, of which the managers 
 were guilty, for did not the words in 
 reference to Le Bas distinctly imply that at 
 this very moment the young man was under- 
 going personal restraint in a foreign land 
 through their agency ? There was another 
 consideration which influenced Claude, and 
 
84 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 this was his wish to be of service to his 
 friends, Mr. and Miss Selby, by being the 
 instrument for placing their property beyond 
 all risk. A vague idea possessed him that 
 when he was no longer in the employ of the 
 firm he would be enabled to put Mr. Selby 
 on his guard, without compromising either 
 the bank or his guardian by so doing. Row 
 far this desire on his part was caused by the 
 state of his feelings towards Miss Selby he 
 did not consider. 
 
 The brothers met as usual at the dinner 
 table, and Claude had just time to whisper — 
 
 " Jules I have decided not to remain, 
 and shall tell Mr. Craig as soon as dinner is 
 over." 
 
 Jules gave his brother a look of approval, 
 but said nothing. 
 
 " I've not been feeling so well of late, sir," 
 said Claude, turning to his guardian, as soon 
 as Mrs. Craig had left the room ; '' and as I 
 had rather a sharp touch of the old faint- 
 ness in the office this moriiing, I really think 
 I must give up my berth at the bank." 
 
CLAUDE EESIGNS HIS CLERKSHIP. 85 
 
 " I hope not, Claude, I'm sure," said Mr. 
 Craig, " for I don't know what would 
 become of jou. You were so wonderfully 
 better when you first entered the office that I 
 can't help thinking it is not so much the 
 work or the sedentary life at the bank that 
 has brought back the old symptom, but pro- 
 l3ably some accidental cause which may not 
 occur again." 
 
 " I'm rather disposed to take Claude's 
 view of the matter," put in Jules, " for I 
 have always observed the moment he gets 
 into the open air tbe oppression of the head 
 and the faiutuess disappear." 
 
 '' It's a pity you should be thinking of 
 leaving the bank, Claude, just at the time its 
 affairs are so flourishing, and fresh business 
 is coming in every day, especially from the 
 principal English residents — the Selbys 
 among the number." The hot blood rose to 
 the young man's face as his guardian uttered 
 these words, but the latter did not seem to 
 notice it, and went on, '' You had better 
 think the matter well over before deciding." 
 
86 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 '' I have considered it, sir, very carefully, 
 and am quite satisfied the post would never 
 suit me, and that I'd better give it up at 
 once," returned Claude. 
 
 " Well, and how do you propose to earn 
 your bread?" asked his guardian, after wait- 
 ing a little to see if he had anything further 
 to say. 
 
 " That is a question, sir, I've not yet had 
 time to consider, but it is one in which, of 
 course, I should be guided by your advice." 
 
 " But surely you must have formed some 
 idea of the kind of occupation that would 
 suit you before deciding on throwing up your 
 present post." 
 
 " Well, I had fancied, and still fancy that 
 some outdoor occupation would agree with 
 me better than being tied to a desk all day." 
 
 " There's nothing in the island, that I 
 know of, that would do for you," pursued his 
 guardian; "but perhaps I might hear of 
 something in France, though these matters 
 always take time to arrange." 
 
 «« Why not take a run out to Newfound- 
 
CLAUDE RESIGNS HIS CLERKSHIP. 87 
 
 land in one of Lawder's fine ships," suggested 
 Jules, who thouQfht the sooner his brother 
 was out of St. Hubert, the better. " The 
 trip would do you a deal of good, and during 
 your absence something might be arranged 
 about your future." 
 
 '' That's not a bad idea of your brother's," 
 said Mr. Crais^. " The bank was wisbinor for 
 some confidential person to report upon its 
 affairs out there. You can think it over, 
 Claude." 
 
 Jules' suggestion, however, did not seem 
 to fall in with his brother's feelings, and he 
 answered rather tartly — 
 
 " No, that would do me no good ; I hate 
 the sea, as you know. A long voyage to 
 India or China might be of service perhaps,, 
 but a short rough passage to Newfoundland in 
 winter would hardly improve anybody's 
 health." 
 
 Jules forbore to press the matter any 
 further ; in fact he was now quite as averse 
 to his suggestion being acted upon as was 
 Claude himself, for he had proposed the 
 
88 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 latter s going to Newfoundland in order tlie 
 more completely to sever liis connection with 
 the bank — an object that would be entirely 
 defeated if, when out there, he was to be 
 employed in the mode their guardian had 
 indicated. He therefore briefly rejoined — 
 
 " Well, I daresay the voyage at this 
 season might be a little too much for you, 
 Claude, so I suppose it mustn't be thought 
 of." 
 
 " I'll tell you what I am willing to do, 
 Claude," said the banker, '^ whether you take 
 a trip to sea or not, I'll keep your berth in 
 the office open for six months, so that at the 
 end of that time if you should feel inclined to 
 return to it you will be free to do so." 
 
 " This is most kind of you, sir," returned 
 the young man, '' but it would be wrong of 
 me to deceive you by holding out any expecta- 
 tion of my taking up my old position. I 
 have considered the subject very carefully, 
 and am satisfied it would never do for me to 
 engage in any pursuit involving much office 
 worJc and confinement,'" 
 
CLAUDE RESIGNS HIS CLERKSHIP. 89 
 
 '« Very well, Claude, as you seem to have 
 made up your raiod to leave I won't say any- 
 tliiug more on the subject," and Mr. Craig 
 rose to join his wife in the drawing-room, 
 where the brothers followed shortly after. 
 
 " I am afraid you'll find your tea rather 
 cold, my dear," said Mrs. Craig, as her 
 husband approached the tea table. '' What 
 can have made you sit so late, Matthew ? 
 Some state secret, I suppose, with which we 
 ladies are not deemed worthy to be en- 
 trusted," she playfully added. 
 
 " Nothing of the kind, my dear," returned 
 her husband, " but still a matter of some 
 importance, nevertheless ; and one in which 
 we are naturally interested — nothing more 
 nor less than Claude's resisfnation of his 
 clerkship." 
 
 He then proceeded to acquaint his wife 
 with the conversation that had passed 
 between himself and her nephews ; then 
 followed some more questions and sugges- 
 tions on the part of their aunt, none of 
 which, however, led to any definite result. 
 
90 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 and everything having been said that could' 
 be said, the subject was allowed to drop on 
 the understanding that Claude was to have 
 the option of returning to the bank after six 
 months, should he then be disposed to do so. 
 In the meanwhile he was to draw half the 
 salary of the appointment he had vacated ; 
 the other half to go to the clerk who would 
 have to officiate for him. 
 
 After this arranofement had been settled it 
 was astonishing what a rapid improvement 
 took place in Claude Dubois' health. It 
 showed itself in his face, and manner, and 
 appetite, and spirits, and whole physical and 
 moral nature. In a few weeks he had cast 
 off every trace of the invalid. 
 
 No one was more surprised at this 
 marvellous change in the young man than 
 Mr. Craig:, who now admitted that a life at 
 the desk did not suit Claude. But thoucrh 
 the improvement in his looks and spirits was 
 mainly due to his having broken off his con- 
 nection with the bank, there were other 
 causes that had helped to produce it. 
 
CLAUDE EESIGNS HIS CLEEKSHIP. 91 
 
 As time went on the intimacy between the 
 families at Roseneath and Les Tourelles 
 increased, and now that he was no longer 
 burdened with the cares of office, and was 
 master of his own time, Claude had more 
 opportunities than ever of seeing his friends 
 at Eoseneath. It was far pleasanter to him 
 to ramble about the green lanes and wooded 
 dells of St. Asaphs, with Kate Selby, than to 
 weary his brain about double entries and the 
 drudgery of a banker's office, so the pleasant 
 little walking parties that were occasionally 
 made up when the Selbys first came to reside 
 in the island were resumed, and scarcely a 
 day now passed without some pedestrian 
 excursion being planned. In these excursions 
 Claude Dubois and Kate Selby were certain 
 to be included. 
 
 Claude was so thoroughly happy in the 
 life he was now leading that he didn't care 
 to ask himself what it was that made those 
 days so delightful, but when his guardian 
 spoke, as he had done more than once, of the 
 possibility of his ward having soon to leave 
 
92 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 for London, to take up an appointment he 
 hoped shortly to secure for him there, he was 
 surprised to find how utterly miserable he 
 felt at the idea of going. Then it was he 
 discovered that a certain young lady was in 
 no small degree responsible for this state of 
 feeling. He discovered that Kate Selhy was 
 very very dear to him. She was for ever in 
 his thoughts ; he was thoroughly wretched if 
 he did not see her daily. In short, she was 
 more to him than any other woman in the 
 world. 
 
 If these were his sentiments towards Kate 
 what were hers towards himself ? this was 
 the question the young man asked himself — 
 and then he would recall with infinite delight 
 certain little incidents in their intercourse 
 which were deeply imprinted on the tablets 
 of his heart, some kind word, or look, or act, 
 which, mere trifles in themselves, were full 
 of significance when viewed by the light which 
 love seemed to shed upon them — these told 
 him as plainly as words could tell that Kate 
 Selby's heart was his. 
 
CLAUDE EESIGNS HIS CLERKSHIP. 93 
 
 There were others too who had arrived at 
 the same conclusion. 
 
 Mr. Selbj had not watched the growino- 
 intimacy betwixt his daughter and Claude 
 Dubois without some misgivings as to what 
 it might end in, but he had deemed it best, so 
 long as the latter's attentions did not over- 
 step the limits which the friendship subsisting 
 between the families might fairly warrant, to 
 make no remark to his daughter on the sub- 
 ject. As days and weeks passed on however, 
 Claude's manner towards Miss Selby as- 
 sumed so lover-like a character, and his 
 attentions were evidently so pleasiag to the 
 latter, that her father considered that the time 
 had arrived when it was his duty to interfere. 
 He accordingly wrote to Claude, stating that 
 his attentions to Miss Selby had recently been 
 so marked as to justify the belief that one, if 
 not the chief object of his visits at Eoseneath, 
 was a desire to improve his acquaintance 
 with that young lady, and engage her affec- 
 tions. His circumstances and position in life 
 however, were such as utterly to forbid the 
 
94 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 idea of bis marrying her, and he must beg in 
 any future intercourse between them, that 
 he would clearly understand he was not to 
 appear in the character of a candidate for 
 Miss Selby's hand. 
 
 Mr. Selby's letter was a sad blow to 
 Claude. He had been so supremely happy 
 till it came, and now all his heart's best hopes 
 were suddenly dashed to the ground, and all 
 prospect of happiness in the future for ever 
 gone. 
 
 He could not blame Mr. Selby, his letter 
 was most courteous and kind, and only what 
 it was his duty as a parent to write — and 
 then, what right had he — he asked himself, 
 to seek to ally himself with that gentleman's 
 daughter ? — he, who was not even her equal 
 in birth, who had not a sixpence in the world, 
 nor a profession even, through which he might 
 look for an independence hereafter. In the 
 wild intoxication of his passion he had shut 
 his eyes to these considerations, but now as 
 they rose to his mind, invested with the im- 
 portance that was due to them, he could not 
 
CLAUDE RESIGNS HIS CLERKSHIP. 95 
 
 but admit, happy, infinitely happy as the last 
 few months of his life had been, that had he 
 but reflected on his position for one moment, 
 reason must have told him it was but a short- 
 lived dream, from which he would awake 
 only to regret that he had ever indulged 
 it. 
 
 But what answer should he send to Mr. 
 Selby's letter? for it needed an answer. 
 Should he consult his guardian ? he thought 
 not. Mr. Craig did not understand him, and 
 never had. Should he speak to Jules ? on 
 no account ; he would have no sympathy from 
 him. Mrs. Craig, however, could, and would 
 enter into his feelings ; she always did so. 
 He would show her Mr. Selby's letter, and be 
 guided by her advice — and most warmly did 
 the kindly woman sympathise with him, as he 
 thought she would. 
 
 " I'm not the least surprised at Mr. Selby 
 having written to you, Claude," she began, 
 after having carefully read that gentleman's 
 letter, " I only regret he delayed doing so so 
 long, the disappointment would then have been 
 
96 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 SO mucli lessened. We lia\re all been to blame, 
 my dear boy, in allowing tliis intimacy be- 
 tween you and Kate to go on so long, for we 
 must have known it could have no other 
 termination than the one it has come to. You 
 must try now, however, and get over your 
 boyish passion as quickly as you can, Claude, 
 and endeavour to regard it as one of those 
 pleasant dreams which almost every one has 
 had experience of in early life, but which, as 
 in your case, frequently prove as short-lived 
 as they are delightful — and now about your 
 reply ; have you decided anything regarding 
 it?" 
 
 " Not absolutely, but I thought I would 
 tell Mr. Selby that he had not misjudged my 
 feelings for his daughter, and that I regretted 
 I had not had them more under control ^ 
 then I would thank him, I thought, for so 
 considerately allowing me to continue my 
 visits in the character of a friend. I don't 
 know w^hat more I could say, do you, dear 
 mother ? " addressincr his aunt as he often did 
 by that endearing name. 
 
CLAdDE EESIGNS HIS CLERKSHIP. 97 
 
 " No, that is all that is necessary, my dear 
 boy, I would say nothing more." 
 
 So Claude wrote to Mr. Selby, and told him 
 how much impressed he had been by Miss 
 Selby's sweet disposition and many attractive 
 qualities, and that he had been presumptuous 
 enough to indulge a hope that when com- 
 pletely restored to health, and settled in some 
 suitable profession, he might have his per- 
 mission to pay her his addresses. 
 
 Circumstanced, however, as he was at 
 present, and having no profession, or means 
 of his own, and being entirely dependent on 
 his guardian, he could not but " admit the 
 wisdom which had dictated the course Mr. 
 Selby had taken." 
 
 Mr. Selby had not mentioned to his 
 daughter that he had written to Claude. He 
 thought it best not to do so till he had re- 
 ceived the young man's reply. He then 
 entered on the subject, and commenced by 
 telling her that having noticed the marked 
 attentions Mr. Claude Dubois had been pay- 
 
 VUL. I. H 
 
98 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 ing her of late, lie had deemed it proper to 
 write to him for some explanation regarding 
 them. 
 
 " I wish you had not written, papa," said 
 Miss Selby, her usually pallid face crimsoning 
 as she spoke. 
 
 " Why so, my dear ? Why do you wish I 
 had not written ? " 
 
 " Because I am sure you are mistaken 
 about Mr. Claude's attentions, for he has 
 never once said anything to me. I mean 
 anything different to other people." 
 
 '' Perhaps not, my child, but there are 
 other ways of showing one's feelings besides 
 through the medium of the tongue," returned 
 her father tenderly taking her hand in his. 
 Kate raised her eyes to those of her father, 
 but said nothing. '' But I would fain hope," 
 he added, " no real harm is done, and that 
 you will see how impossible it is that this 
 foolish attachment can ever lead to anything 
 but sorrow and disappointment, and that you 
 will hotli strive to conquer it." 
 
 " Both, papa. Then you have heard from 
 
CLAUDE EESIGNS HIS OLEEKSHIP. 99 
 
 Mr. Dubois ! " slie exclaimed with sudden ex- 
 citement. " And Claude — I mean Mr, 
 Dubois, has told you that he — he " — 
 
 Here she stopped, unable or unwilling to 
 finish what she was going to say— her father 
 however supplied the omission. 
 
 " Yes, Kate, I have heard from Mr. Dubois, 
 and he makes no attempt to disguise his feel- 
 ings. He is quite aware, he says, of the 
 hopelessness of his attachment, and will do 
 his best to forget it ; and he ends by express- 
 ing a hope that I will still allow him to come 
 to the house like any other friend of the 
 family." 
 
 " And you won't object to that, will you, 
 papa ? " 
 
 " Certainly not, my dear, in fact I have 
 alreadv told Mr. Dubois that we shall be 
 pleased to see him at any time in the 
 character of a friend ; and I think too well 
 of him to believe him capable of abusing my 
 kindness by attempting to appear as a lover." 
 Miss Selby was silent, but her countenance 
 testified how gratified she was by this con- 
 
100 THE YANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 cession on the part of her father. " Some 
 parents," he continued, " would have deemed 
 it their duty to forbid any further intercourse 
 between you, but I do not take this view. I 
 know you to be possessed of sound, practical 
 sense, and that you would never willingly say 
 or do anything likely to cause me anxiety. 
 You must see as clearly as I do, that an 
 alliance between yourself and Claude Dubois 
 could never be desirable. I will say no more 
 about it, but leave the matter in your own 
 hands, with the fullest confidence that you 
 will strive to forget this very foolish business, 
 and by your future demeanour towards Mr. 
 Dubois, encourage him to do the same." 
 
 " I will try my best, papa, indeed I will," 
 she answered as she threw her arms around 
 his neck and tenderly kissed hiin. 
 
 The task however was not an easy one 
 either to her or Claude, but despite the diffi- 
 culties of their position, each was resolved to 
 fulfil to the best of tlieir ability the implied 
 compact which was to regulate their future 
 intercourse ; how far they were successful in 
 
CLAUDE RESIGNS HIS CLERKSHIP. 101 
 
 their endeavour to do so, will be seen as we 
 go on. 
 
 Thus matters continued for several weeks, 
 till one day on his return from office, Mr. 
 Oraig sent word to Claude that he would like 
 to see him. The young man lost no time in 
 obeying the summons ; his guardian then in- 
 formed him that he had just succeeded in 
 getting an appointment for him, which he 
 thouo'ht mio^ht suit him. 
 
 '' It is not perhaps in every respect what 
 you would like, Claude, but it has so many 
 attendant advantages, that I think you would 
 be wrong to refuse it." 
 
 " What is it, sir ? what is it ? " he asked. 
 
 '' The secretaryship to a Joint Stock 
 Company in London, of which I am myself 
 a director, and in which T have a considerable 
 interest," said the banker. " And though 
 the office is certainly one of a sedentary 
 nature, yet as it does not involve duties of a 
 laborious or complicated character, and the 
 salary is a liberal one — £250 a year, I most 
 strongly advise you to accept it." 
 
102 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Claude would rather have associated him- 
 self with a company with which his guardian 
 had no connection whatever, but it would not 
 do to be too nice, he thought, so he told him 
 he felt very grateful to him for placing him 
 in a position to make an independence, and 
 that he would be ready to undertake the 
 duties of his new office whenever required. 
 
 Thouofh not altoo^ether satisfied with his 
 appointment, there was one consideration that 
 greatly reconciled him to it, and that was the 
 hope that his altered position and improved 
 prospects might so far weigh with Mr. Selby 
 as to induce that gentleman to sanction the 
 renewal of his addresses to his daughter at 
 some future time. Full of hopeful anticipa- 
 tions, and under the impulse of a sanguine 
 temperament he hurried of£ to Roseneath 
 early the next day, anxious to be the first to 
 announce to his friends there the news of his 
 appointment, and of his approaching depar- 
 ture from the island. 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETINQ. 
 
 It happened that morning that Miss Selby 
 had gone out at an earlier hour than usual 
 to visit a poor woman in the neighbour- 
 hood, and that her route for some distance 
 was the same as that which Claude was 
 pursuing on his way to Roseneath ; owing, 
 however, to the numerous turnings in the 
 lane they were following — it was one of 
 those shady twisting lanes so peculiar to St. 
 Hubert — they had arrived within a few yards 
 only of each other before either was aware of 
 the fact. Claude was the first to speak. 
 
 '' Oil, Miss Selby ! " he exclaimed, hastily 
 seizing her hand, '' I am so pleased to see 
 you ! I was on my way to Roseneath to tell 
 your father and you of my good fortune. 
 Guess what it is. Now do try and guess ! " 
 he repeated, as she looked puzzled and 
 seemed waiting for some further explanation. 
 
104 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " I really can't imagine what it is, Mr. 
 Dubois; how should I?" she said rather 
 impatiently. " But whatever it is, it seems 
 to have put you in amazing spirits." 
 
 '' Well, then, I suppose I must tell you. 
 I have been offered, and have accepted, a 
 secretaryship in London on a salary of two 
 hundred and fifty pounds a year, with a 
 prospect of further increase ! and I leave 
 the island in a week to take up the appoint- 
 ment." 
 
 And he raised his eyes to hers to see the 
 effect his announcement had produced upon 
 her, but they speedily fell as she curtly said — 
 
 '' Indeed ! I am very pleased to hear it." 
 
 " I am very pleased to hear it ! " inwardly 
 repeated Claude. Was this all she could 
 find to say ? Were these common place 
 expressions all that Kate Selby had to offer 
 him on an event which would remove, as he 
 hoped, one of the chief obstacles in the way 
 of their union ? 
 
 He had expected she would have responded 
 by a ipvohision of heartfelt congratulations, and 
 
/ AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 105 
 
 she could onlj say she was pleased at his 
 good fortune. What could she mean by 
 •manifestinof such a strano^e indifference to 
 his worldly advancement ? Could this be 
 the Kate of former days — the Kate he had 
 loved so long and so dearl)^ ? whose very 
 footsteps he worshipped. Could she be 
 acting ? and yet for what purpose ? He, 
 however, would not do so, he would be 
 natural to the last, and would scorn to enact 
 a part that was foreign to his nature and his 
 sense of right. He would first ask for an 
 explanation of her altered manner, and how 
 and when he had given her offence. He would 
 tell her of his own deep and unchangeable 
 love, and of the new-born hopes his appoint- 
 ment and the prospect of a speedy inde- 
 pendence had awakened within him. He 
 might do this now, he thought, without any 
 serious breach of his ens^ao^ement to Mr. 
 Selby, or risk of his displeasure. 
 
 As these thoughts passed rapidly through 
 his mind, he said, with a saddened air as he 
 again looked up — 
 
106 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " I have offended you, Miss Selbj. I must 
 have done so, or you would never have 
 shown such unconcern at the news I have 
 just brought you; but tell rae, I entreat you, 
 what my offence is ? '' 
 
 " I am not indifferent to anything that 
 concerns your welfare, Mr. Dubois ; indeed, 
 I am not. Nor have you done or said any- 
 thing to offend me," she answered quickly. 
 
 " Then, why this unusual coldness of 
 manner, dear Miss Selby ? " 
 
 " I am sorry you have thought it so, Mr. 
 Dubois. I did not wish to make any change 
 in my manner, or to appear different from 
 what I usually am." 
 
 She said this so naturally, and she looked 
 as she spoke so like the Kate of former 
 days, that Claude was emboldened to go on. 
 
 " Oh ! Miss Selby," he said, raising her 
 hand, which he still retained, to his lips, "I 
 can bear this cruel suspense no longer ! I 
 must learn my fate at once — this very day, 
 this very hour, or life will become insupport- 
 able ! How I have loved you, and shall ever 
 
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 107 
 
 love you, Kate ! Yes, suffer me, if only this 
 once, to call you by that endearing name. Give 
 me, then, one word of encouragement, only 
 one word ; say if all goes well, if health be 
 given me, and I win an independence, you 
 will listen to my suit, and with your father's 
 sanction consent to be my wife." 
 
 The rapidity and passionate warmth with 
 which he spoke had left his companion little 
 or no time for calm reflection ; but 
 the shifting shades of colour on her face, 
 the workings of her features and her trem- 
 bling form too plainly showed the fierce 
 struggle that was going on within — a struggle 
 between passion and principle, for it was not 
 till then had she fully realized how sweet it was 
 to love and to be loved again. But thanks to 
 the teachings of an exemplary mother she 
 had also learnt that the dearest wishes of 
 the heart had at times to be sacrificed. 
 
 Whilst undero^oinof this mental conflict she 
 had kept her eyes resolutely bent upon the 
 ground, though her lover still retained his 
 hold upon her hand. For a moment, but 
 
108 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 only for a moment, she wavered ; then, as if 
 moved by some sudden impulse, she dis- 
 engaged her hand from his, as she exclaimed, 
 in a voice tremulous with emotion — 
 
 '' I must not, I dare not, listen to such 
 words as these ! My duty to my father and 
 myself forbids it ! " 
 
 " But with Mr. Selby's sanction, Kate ? " 
 
 *' You have not yet obtained it," she 
 answered. '' Nay, leave me, Claude ; leave 
 me, I beseech you, and for my sake, for both 
 our sakes, strive to look on what has passed 
 as an idle dream — a dream that can never be 
 realized." 
 
 Then, as if resolved not to trust herself 
 a moment longer in his presence, she turned 
 away from him and hurried up the lane. 
 
 Claude did not attempt to follow her ! for in 
 her conduct throughout the trying scene she 
 had set an example which he felt he would 
 have done well to imitate. 
 
 Though impressed at first with the belief 
 that his altered prospects justified him in 
 addressing Miss Selby in the manner he had 
 
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 109 
 
 done, yet the more he reflected on what had 
 occurred the more convinced was he of his 
 error, and that in speaking to her in the 
 language of love he had violated the com- 
 pact he had entered into with her father. 
 But though his heart condemned him, and 
 justly so, yet with what unspeakable joy 
 could he now dwell on the fact that his 
 darling Kate was not indifferent to him — nay, 
 that she loved him with a love as deep as his 
 own. 
 
 It was with these feelings, so different in 
 their nature and operation, that Claude 
 Dubois found himself at Mr. Selby's door. 
 The latter was busy in his library writing, his 
 usual employment after breakfast. 
 
 "Well, my young friend, to what am I 
 indebted for so early a visit?" said Mr.. 
 Selby rather drily, as he rose to receive his 
 visitor. 
 
 "I have just been offered an appointment 
 in London, sir, on a salary of £250 a year; 
 and knowing the friendly interest you take 
 in my welfare, I wished to be the first to telL 
 
110 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 you the news and receive your congratula- 
 tions." 
 
 " I am very glad to hear of your good 
 fortune, Mr. Dubois," returned Mr. Selby in 
 the same dry tone ; " and am sure it will give 
 my daughter equal pleasure to hear of 
 it. 
 
 " And as my worldly position will now be 
 greatly bettered," pursued the young man, 
 but in a less confident tone, as he marked 
 the extreme indifference with which Mr. 
 Selby had received the announcement, " I 
 trust I may not seem too presumptuous if I 
 should hope that at some future day I might 
 be allowed to address Miss Selby with your 
 approval and consent." 
 
 Mr. Selby looked very grave, but did not 
 immediately reply. At length, turning to 
 his visitor, he asked rather abruptly — 
 
 " Is Miss Selby aware of your having got 
 this appointment ? " 
 
 " She is, sir ; I met her on my way here, 
 and I told her of it." 
 
 " When announcing the news to her did 
 
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. Ill 
 
 jou in any way refer to tlie subject of your 
 feelings towards her ? " 
 
 The young man hesitated before he replied. 
 At length he said, though with an air of 
 extreme dejection — 
 
 " I will not seek to deceive you, sir, I did 
 refer to it, expressing my earnest hope that 
 this appointment might lead to an inde- 
 pendence, and enable me hereafter to claim 
 her hand with your approval." 
 
 " I am exceedingly sorry," said Mr. Selby, 
 " that you should have made any allusion to 
 that subject ; indeed, it was, as you are 
 aware, an understood condition of your 
 being allowed to continue your intercourse 
 with my daughter that you should in future 
 meet only as friends ; but in addressing her 
 as yon have just done, you have broken the 
 agreement between us, and placed me under 
 the painful necessity of forbidding any 
 further intercourse between you." 
 
 The young man seemed much pained by 
 what Mr. Selby said, but, recovering himself 
 after a few moments, he said — ■ 
 
112 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " I was wrong, sir, I admit. I had na 
 right, after what had passed between us, ta 
 touch upon the question of my feelings 
 towards Miss Selby. But carried away by 
 the sanguine hopes this appointment had 
 raised within me, I forgot my duty, and in 
 an unguarded moment broke the compact to 
 which I had voluntarily subscribed, and 
 addressed your daughter in language that 
 was inconsistent with the character I had 
 promised to maintain in my future inter- 
 course with her." 
 
 " And by that one false step, Claude, you 
 have completely changed the relations 
 between my daughter and yourself; for 
 whilst I have been labouring to set before 
 her the impossibiUty of your union, you have 
 been taking advantage of my kindness in 
 allowing you still to meet, to play the 
 lover, and delude her with the belief that 
 you may yet be married with my free-will 
 and consent." 
 
 " But, surely, you would not withhold your 
 
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 113 
 
 sanction were I to be in a position to main- 
 tain a wife?" pleaded Claude. 
 
 " I have no desire," replied Mr. Selby, " to 
 enter into any pledge as regards the future ; 
 but at the present time, as there does not 
 appear the remotest prospect of your ever 
 marrying my daughter, in order to save her 
 peace of mind and your own, I feel it will 
 be my duty to stop all further intercourse 
 between yourself and her." 
 
 '' Then, am I to understand that the 
 appointment I have obtained will make no 
 difference in your views respecting me ? " 
 
 " Your appointment will have not the 
 slightest influence on my decision, Mr. 
 Dubois. There are many important con- 
 siderations that forbid my entertaining the 
 idea of your marrying into my family, that 
 the circumstance of your having secured this- 
 appoiatment would have little or no weight 
 with me." 
 
 "Mio^ht I ask what those considerations 
 are, Mr. Selby ? " 
 
 VOL. 1. I 
 
114 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 '' Certainly. You are fully entitled to 
 know them. There is first, then, the want 
 of means on both sides ; for I could make 
 my daughter but a very small allowance 
 during my life, and Mr. Craig is not pre- 
 pared, as I understand, to settle anything 
 upon you. Secondly, there is the doubtful 
 question of your health, for it is by no means 
 clear to me that the work in this London 
 office may not, as in the case of the clerkship 
 here, prove too much for you ; and, lastly, 
 there is the natural desire which a father 
 must feel when his children do marry, that 
 they should form alliances in the same rank 
 of life as their own. I touch upon this 
 objection with considerable reluctance," pro- 
 ceeded Mr. Selby, who had not failed to note 
 the crimson flush which the allusion to 
 Claude's lowly origin had called up in the 
 cheek of the latter, '* but I deem it right to 
 do so, because we come of an ancient family, 
 Mr. Dubois, among whose weaknesses pride 
 of birth has always occupied a prominent 
 place." 
 
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 115 
 
 '' Then it is your wisli tliat my visits to 
 your family should cease ; is it not so ? " said 
 Claude sorrowfully. 
 
 " Such is my wish, my young friend, and 
 I am convinced it is the wisest course for 
 all parties ; and as you so shortly leave for 
 London, you will soon cease to miss your 
 friends at Roseneath amid the constant dis- 
 tractions of official life." 
 
 " Oh ! how little do you know me, Mr. 
 Selby, if you can suppose I could ever forget 
 what has been the brightest, the happiest, 
 period of my existence. But might I not be 
 allowed one more visit — a very brief one, to 
 say good-bye ? " 
 
 ''It is better not," said Mr. Selby gently, 
 but firmly, as Claude lingered for a moment 
 at the door awaiting his reply. 
 
 " What a pity that young fellow is subject 
 to fits ! and that he is not better born ! " 
 said Mr. Selby, as the sound of Claude's foot- 
 steps died away upon his ear. " There are 
 some fine points in his character, and he is 
 a perfect gentleman. He was wrong, how- 
 
116 THE BAKKERS OE ST. HUBERT. 
 
 ever, to speak to Kate as lie did; but as lie 
 has so frankly admitted his error I must not 
 be too bard upon bim, poor fellow ! I dare- 
 say bad I been in bis place I should have 
 acted as he did." 
 
CHAPTER YII. 
 
 MARTIN Fallot's earm at beau rivage. 
 
 A FEW weeks after Claude had resigned his 
 clerkship in the bank, Mr. Gresley one 
 morning hurriedly entered and inquired of 
 one of the clerks whether Mr. Craig was 
 there. On being told he was in the bank- 
 parlour, he proceeded thither, saying as he 
 went in '* If any one should wish to see the 
 chairman or myself, say we are particularly 
 engaged." 
 
 Entering the room in which his colleague 
 sat poring over a bundle of accounts, Grresley 
 carefully closed the door, and drawing his 
 chair close to that of his companion, said in a 
 low voice " That fellow Le Bas is back again ! 
 he landed from the French boat an hour ago ! 
 and the first thing he did was to call at 
 Jeffreys' ! I saw him enter his office, and after 
 a few minutes come out as:ain. I hurried 
 over to tell you the news.' 
 
 
118 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " Deuced bad news too, Gresley ! What on 
 earth is to be done?" said the chairman, his 
 usual stoicism for once forsaking him. 
 
 " Why, send him back to France without a 
 day's delay ! " replied the other. 
 
 '' But we must first know where to look 
 for him." 
 
 " That won't be difficult, for to whom 
 could he go if not to Martin Pallet ? he's the 
 only friend he has." 
 
 " Well, but how to get him back to France, 
 even if he be at Fallot's ? that won't be an 
 easy job I fancy," said the chairman with 
 increasing anxiety. 
 
 " I think it may be managed," said the 
 other '' but we must act with promptitude, 
 and keep him out of Jeffreys' way." 
 
 " He can't see Jeffrey to-day," said the 
 chairman '' for the Simeon case is on, and 
 Jeffreys is counsel for the plaintiff." 
 
 " That's lucky," said the other " leave the 
 rest to me," and opening the door he desired 
 one of the clerks to tell John Parker he was 
 wanted. 
 
MARTIN Fallot's faem at beau eivage. 119 
 
 " We shall require your services Par- 
 ker, for a little job that must be taken in 
 hand at once," began the manager as 
 soon as the above-named individual had 
 entered '' you remember Louis Le Bas, I 
 suppose ? " 
 
 " I must have a precious short memory if 
 I don't," returned the man. 
 
 '' Well, he's back here again ! he's broke 
 away from Hauteville, and he landed here this 
 
 mornino^ ! '' 
 
 '' You don't mean it Mr. Gresley ! " ex- 
 claimed the man gaping with open mouth 
 at his informant. 
 
 *' But he must go back again to-night ! and 
 you and I, Parker, must help to take him 
 back ! " 
 
 " He'll never go back of his own free-will," 
 interposed the chairman. 
 
 " 1 don't for a moment suppose he will," 
 returned the manager. 
 
 " Then how do you propose to deal with 
 him ? " 
 
 " Eorce him to go whether he likes it or 
 
120 THE BA.NKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 not. Let me see, at what hour will the 
 tide serve this evening at the Point, 
 Parker ? " 
 
 "At half -past eight, a little before 
 perhaps." 
 
 '' Well, now listen to me, and be careful 
 there is no mistake. Gro down to the pier 
 and see Bartleman, tell him we shall require 
 
 his boat to-nio-ht to run across to X and 
 
 that he must take it round to Roche's Point, 
 just below Fallot's, not later than eight, and 
 he must brinof one of his best men along^ with 
 him ; explain to him that you and I will meet 
 him there, and tell him what more he'll have 
 to do, — and, if all goes well, you may tell 
 him that he shall have two hundred francs for 
 the job:' 
 
 " To which I will add another Jiff?/ on his 
 return," said Mr. Craig. 
 
 As is so commonly the case with insane 
 people, and even with those who like Le Bas 
 have suffered their minds to brood for any 
 length of time on some real or imagined 
 wrong, the young man had displayed such 
 an amount of cunning in his conduct and 
 
MAETiN Fallot's farm at beau eivage. 121 
 
 <}onversation for some time previous to liis 
 flight, as to have completely blinded the 
 officers of the asylum as to the real state of 
 his mind ; so impressed indeed were they with 
 the belief that every symptom of insanity had 
 left him, that for some considerable period 
 they had been led to relax the very strict 
 disciphne which on his first arrival among 
 them it had been found necessary to exercise 
 over him — and hence it was he had succeeded 
 so easily in effecting his escape ; whilst so 
 -admirably had he laid his plans, that he was 
 actually steaming out of the French port of 
 
 X on his way to St. Hubert, before the 
 
 authorities at Hauteville were even aware of 
 his escape. 
 
 In the ample leisure he found whilst on 
 board the steamer, he had revolved in his mind 
 the course of action he should pursue on land- 
 ing on his native sh ore, and as we have seen, 
 he had gone straight from the boat to the 
 office of his mother's old friend Lawyer 
 Jeffreys, with the intention of acquainting 
 him with his arrival in the island, and 
 .being guided as to the future proceedings 
 
122 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 by his legal advice. Finding however that he 
 was not likely to return for several hours, 
 he had left a note requesting him to call as 
 soon as possible at the cottage of his kinsman 
 Mr. Fallot. This done, he had made the best 
 of his way to Beau Rivage, where Martin and 
 his family, as he had anticipated they would, 
 received him with a hearty welcome. 
 
 In answer to their natural inquiry how- 
 ever as to what he had been doing since 
 his discharge from Ste. Marie, he thought 
 it prudent for the present at least, to 
 exhibit a strict reserve; he therefore 
 merely told them he had been living in 
 France, but that beins^ tired at last of French 
 life, he had returned to his native land. The 
 fact was when he called to mind the peculiar 
 circumstances which had led to his being 
 placed in the French asylum, he felt by 
 no means sure that the island authorities 
 might not hold Mr. Craig and Mr. Le Brocq, 
 to have been justified in sending him there,. 
 and mio^ht even feel it their dutv to direct 
 
MARTIN Fallot's farm at beau rivage. 123 
 
 that lie should again be delivered over to tho 
 ojficers of that institution. 
 
 Martin Fallot's cottage at Beau Eivage 
 stood on a high ridge overlooking the sea, 
 from which it was distant about a quarter of 
 a mile as the crow flies, but fully a mile from 
 it by the narrow and circuitous cart road 
 which led down to the little cove known bj 
 the name of Bodies Foint. 
 
 About a hundred yards from the house by 
 the road's side were two rudely hewn granite 
 pillars with movable wooden bars, which 
 formed the main entrance to the farm. 
 
 About eight o'clock one evening in the 
 early part of March a light cart, having two 
 men in it, might have been observed slowly 
 ascending the hill which conducted to the 
 farm. On reaching the granite pillars the 
 driver stopped his horse, and whispered 
 something to the man who was seated beside 
 him, upon which the latter sprang to the 
 ground, and quiting the road, struck into a 
 path that he seemed to be familiar with. 
 
124 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 which led directly down to the cove already 
 spoken of. In the course of a few minutes 
 he returned accompanied by two powerful- 
 looking men whom he directed to conceal 
 themselves until they saw the light of a dark 
 lantern turned towards them. This was to 
 be the signal for them to leave their place of 
 concealment, and seize and pinion a man 
 whom they would then see in the act of 
 passing the gateway (towards the cart). 
 Having given these instructions, Mr. Grresley, 
 for it was no other than he, unshipped the 
 bars of the gate, and advanced quickly 
 towards the house. After rapping once or 
 twice the door was opened by a respectable 
 middle-aged woman to whom he addressed the 
 inquiry whether Mr. Le Bas was within. 
 
 "You mean the young man that's just 
 arrived from France ? " 
 
 " Precisely, Mr. Le Bas — Mr. Louis Le Bas." 
 
 " Oh ! yes, he's at the back. I'll go and 
 €all him." 
 
 " Pray do, but please be quick, for I can't 
 stop long, as I've left my horse by the pillars 
 
MARTIN Fallot's farm at beau rivage. 125 
 
 yonder, and he won't stand. Tell Mr. Le Bas 
 to come down there and speak to me ; say I 
 am Mr. Jeffreys, Lawyer Jeffreys say, and 
 that I wish particularly to see him ; do you 
 understand ? " 
 
 " I quite understand," returned the woman, 
 *' there, go, mind your horse, I'll send Mr. Lo- 
 Bas down to you." And with these words she 
 bustled away in search of the person in 
 question, whilst Mr. Gresley retraced his 
 steps to the granite pillars. 
 
 Presently a strong bright light might have 
 been seen to issue from the avenue that led 
 to the house, and at the same moment almost 
 the figure of a man might have been discerned 
 hurrying towards the gateway, but ere he 
 could pass through it he was seized on both 
 sides, thrown violently to the ground, and. 
 before he could give the alarm, or even raise 
 a cry, he was gagged, pinioned, and rendered 
 incapable of offering the least resistance to- 
 his unknown assailants. 
 
 " And now we've got you again, my fine 
 fellow," said Gresley, to whom the idea had 
 
126 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 suddenly occurred of personating one of tlie 
 attendants of the asylum — an idea whicli his 
 perfect knowledge of French and the darkness 
 of the night seemed highly to favour — " and 
 now we've got you again, my fine fellow, I 
 hope you'll have the civility to ask for leave 
 the next time you may have a fancy for cross- 
 in of the water." 
 
 The device was perfectly successful, and 
 deceived into the belief that his late assail- 
 ants were no other than the officers of the 
 establishment from which he had just effected 
 his escape, Le Bas quietly but doggedly 
 obeyed every order he nowreceived. Mounting 
 the cart, he took his seat between Gresley 
 and one of the boatmen, whilst Parker led 
 the horse down the road followed by the 
 second boatman to the cove where lay the 
 boat which was waiting to convey the un- 
 fortunate fugitive back to his destination. 
 Having waited to see the party embark and 
 to witness the boat speeding away under the 
 influence of a strong westerly wind, Parker 
 remounted the cart, and drove back to Les 
 
MAETiN Fallot's faem at beau rivage. 127 
 
 'Tourelles to report to his employer the suc- 
 cessful issue of the lawless act in which he 
 had just been taking such a prominent part. 
 
 The great Simeon suit in which Mr. Jeffreys 
 had been retained for the plaintiff, had occu- 
 pied the court till a late hour of the day as 
 Mr. Craig had rightly conjectured it would 
 do ; instead, therefore, of returning to his 
 office, as was his usual practice on the rising 
 of the Court, Mr. Jeffreys had gone straight 
 home, and it was not till the next morninof 
 that he received the note which Louis Le 
 Bas had left for him at his office, and which 
 ran as follows : — 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I am this moment landed from 
 France, I will explain all when we meet. You 
 will find me at Mr. Fallot's farm at Beau 
 Kivage. 
 
 " Louis Le Bas." 
 
 The lawyer read and re-read the note with 
 feelings of no common interest. It had 
 awakened within him memories of an event 
 which for years had lain buried but not for- 
 
128 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 gotten in the innermost recesses of his heart 
 — an event of a strange and suspicious cha- 
 racter, that was still shrouded under the veil 
 of a great mystery. 
 
 Among the friends of the late widow Le 
 Bas, none had shown a warmer and more 
 genuine sympathy with her misfortunes than 
 Lawyer Jeffreys. He had listened patiently 
 to the recital of her wrong^s, and had franklv 
 told her that without intendingf to cast the- 
 slightest doubt on the truth of her statement, 
 he could hold out no hope of her being enabled 
 to establish her case against the bank, unless 
 she could produce some evidence to show that 
 her railway shares had actually passed inta 
 their possession, and had not been subse- 
 quently surrendered by them either to herself 
 or any other party having authority to receive 
 them. On the death of the widow — an event 
 which followed very shortly after her dis- 
 covery of the banker's treachery, the lawyer 
 had carefully examined the papers of the 
 deceased lady, in the hope that through them 
 he mio^ht obtain some clue to the mode in 
 
MAETiN Fallot's farm at beau rivage. 129 
 
 whicli her property had been dealt with after 
 her husband's death. The only paper he 
 could discover, however, after a most careful 
 search, which bore on the subject in any way, 
 was a rough memorandum in the widow's 
 handwriting, giving the name and address of 
 an agioteur or broker at Paris, who on a cer- 
 tain date in the year 1840, had forwarded 
 for her signature two transfer deeds for some 
 shares in the Paris and Orleans Railway, 
 which had been purchased on her behalf. 
 
 The lawyer was keenly alive to the value 
 of the information conveyed in this memo- 
 randum, but the mental illness of Louis Le 
 Bas, following, as it did, so immediately on 
 the death of the widow, his lengthened con- 
 finement in the asylum at Ste. Marie, and his 
 subsequent disappearance when discharged 
 from that institution, had left him without 
 any adequate motive for pursuing the in- 
 quiry; accordingly he had dismissed the sub- 
 ject from his mind, nor had he again recurred 
 to it until it was unexpectedly brought back 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
130 THE BANKERS OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 to his remembrance by the young man's note 
 announcing his return to St. Hubert, and 
 requesting the lawyer to come and see him 
 at once. 
 
 The mysterious disappearance of Le Bas 
 from his kinsman's farm a few hours after- 
 wards, had given rise to a variety of con- 
 jectures as to his probable fate. The more 
 prevalent belief, however, was when the night 
 had passed over without his having returned 
 or any explanation was given of the cause of 
 his absence, that in rambling along the coast 
 amid the favourite haunts of his youth, he 
 had slipped over the cliff and been drowned. 
 The person who had last seen and spoken 
 with him on the night of his disappearance 
 was the farmer's wife Marguerite ; she stated 
 that about eight o'clock on the evening in 
 question, a stranger had knocked at the door 
 of their cottage, and after stating his name 
 to be Lawyer Jeffreys, had told her he had 
 come from Deliemont expressly to see Mr. 
 Louis Le Bas, and begged her to send the 
 young man down to the granite pillars at the 
 
HARTIN Fallot's farm at beau rivage. 131 
 
 Toad's side, where he would wait for him, 
 but that he could not stop a moment longer, 
 as he was afraid his horse, which was young 
 ;-and spirited, might break away ; that she 
 had done as the stranger requested, and had 
 sent Mr. Le Bas down to the pillars, but that 
 he did not return, nor did she know what 
 had become of him. 
 
 This account, clear and connected as it 
 was, not being confirmed, however, in its 
 most essential points by Mr. Jeffreys (that 
 gentleman declaring that he had not been 
 anywhere near the Pallots' house on that 
 evening), and Mrs. Fallot being known to be 
 TSLther flightf/ at times, it did not meet with 
 much credence, and the general belief was 
 :that the unfortunate youth had lost his life 
 in the manner suggested. 
 
 At the same time there were some few 
 persons, the lawyer among the number, who, 
 after making due allowance for Marguerite's 
 idiosyncrasies, were disposed to regard the 
 matter in a different light, and had arrived 
 -at the conclusion that some person or persons 
 
132 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 unknown, one of whom must have personated 
 Mr. Jeffreys, had from some interested motive 
 or other, inveigled the unfortunate youth 
 from his kinsman's house, and had either 
 murdered him or conveyed him to some place 
 of concealment, there to keep him till the 
 excitement occasioned by his disappearance 
 should have died away, and an opportunity 
 been afforded his captors of removing him 
 from the island. 
 
 There was one individual who, had 
 he liked, could have thrown considerable 
 light on the fate of the missing man, by 
 revealing the fact of his previous long resi- 
 dence in the lunatic asylum at Haute ville ; 
 but, though bearing no ill-will towards Le 
 Bas, the dread of bringing himself into 
 trouble for the part he had taken in placing 
 him there, had deterred Daniel Le Brocq, as 
 likewise his wife and son, from giving any 
 kind of evidence in the matter ; and so the 
 disappearance of the young man in spite of 
 every inquiry, and a most diligent search 
 
MARTIN Fallot's farm at beau eivage. 133 
 
 along the coast and in every otlier direction, 
 remained as great a mystery as ever. 
 
 It miglit be as well to mention in this place 
 that one of the first things the lawyer did on 
 receiving Le Bas' note announcing his return 
 to the island, was to refer to Mrs. Le Bas' 
 papers for the name and address of the 
 broker at Paris, who in 1840 had forwarded 
 her the French railway transfers for signature, 
 and to write to the latter for the numbers of 
 the shares to which they referred. 
 
 The broker's reply which he received very 
 promptly, was in every respect satisfactory. 
 It gave the information requested, and stated 
 that the purchase had been made by order of 
 a Mr. Matthew Craig for one Matilda lie Bas 
 widow, of Beau Rivage in the island of St. 
 Hubert. 
 
 Satisfactory however as the broker's letter 
 was, Mr. Jeffreys felt it would be useless to 
 continue his inquiries whilst the present 
 uncertainty existed as to the fate of his miss- 
 ing client, so he decided to take no further 
 
134 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 action in the matter at present, particularly 
 as some months later he would have occasion 
 to visit Paris, when, should any further 
 inquiries be needed, he could make them in 
 person. 
 
CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 HAUTEVILLE. 
 
 Thbee are few more lovely spots in France 
 than the little town and environs of Hauteville. 
 
 Built on the slopes and summit of a rocky 
 steep that rises abruptly to a height of some 
 three hundred feet from the waters of the 
 Garaye, the quaint old town with its lofty 
 towers and spires, its projecting houses and 
 its antique arcades, forms a pleasing picture 
 of mediseval times in addition to the natural 
 beauties which surround it. J^ature and art 
 seem to have combined to make the scene 
 attractive ! for while the one has bestowed 
 upon it all the needful elements of a perfect 
 landscape, the other has imparted to it an 
 additional charm in that noble structure — 
 the granite viaduct that spans the valley of 
 the Graraye. 
 
 Few persons, we make bold to say, who 
 
136 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 may have chanced to visit this delightful spot 
 at the season of the year when the country 
 around is arrayed in all its summer glory, 
 when the trees are in full leaf, the pastures 
 still green, and the little silvery river winds 
 noiselessly through the vale, can have failed 
 to carry away from it other than a pleasing 
 recollection of the place. Even the least 
 sesthetic mind could hardly look on such a 
 scene unmoved ! 
 
 It was to this enchanting Frencli town and 
 watering place — for Hauteville, it should be 
 stated, had mineral waters and a season^ in 
 addition to its other attractions — that Mr. 
 Jeffreys was directing his steps on his way to 
 Paris some four months after the occurrence 
 narrated in the previous chapter. He had 
 chosen the above route in preference to 
 any other, for not being pressed for time, and 
 desirous of visiting a place so famed for its 
 lovel}^ scenery as was Hauteville, and the 
 neighbourhood, he had determined to enjoy 
 himself there for a few days. 
 
 Among the lions of the place, and within 
 
HAUTE VILLE. 137 
 
 an easy walk of the town, was a large public 
 building with extensive grounds attached to 
 it, called the Asyle des Alienes, which on 
 certain days of the week was thrown open for 
 the iDspection of strangers. It was shortly 
 after his arrival at Hauteville that Mr. Jeffreys 
 accompanied by some friends, went to see this 
 useful institution. After inspecting some of 
 the apartments of the less refractory patients, 
 and listening with more or less interest to 
 their different histories as related by the 
 attendant who took them over the building, 
 the visitors had proceeded to the grounds, 
 where the lunatics in various groups were 
 pursuing their different games and exercises. 
 On quitting the building Mr. Jeffreys had 
 separated from his party, and was quietly 
 watching a couple of young men who were 
 engaged in turning up the ground of a newly 
 made flower-garden, when one of them, after 
 looking at him intently for a few seconds, 
 suddenly threw aside his spade and rushing 
 towards him exclaimed " Oh ! Mr. Jeffreys, 
 I am so glad you have found me ! — and you 
 
138 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 won't let them keep me here any longer, will 
 you ? " 
 
 The lawyer, who had instantly recognised 
 in the young man before him his missing 
 client, Le Bas, was no less surprised at the 
 unexpected meeting. 
 
 " Bless me," he exclaimed in the deepest 
 amazement " is it really you, Le Bas ? how 
 is this ? who sent you here ? " 
 
 '* The bank people I suppose, Mr. Jeffreys,, 
 but I couldn't say for certain," — and he then 
 briefly related how he had been brought to 
 the asylum five years before by his kinsman, 
 Le Brocq, how he had recently effected his 
 escape therefrom, how he had been waylaid 
 at Beau Rivage, and forcibly brought back 
 
 again, and how after landing at X he had 
 
 been carried before the commissary of police 
 at that place, who, after hearing the state- 
 ments of the men who brought him there, 
 gave him in charge to some gendarmes to be 
 taken back to Hauteville. 
 
 "It's a very strange story indeed ! " said 
 the lawyer. '' Did you not recognise any 
 
HAUTEVILLE. 139' 
 
 one of the men who had a hand in your 
 abduction ? " 
 
 " No, but I thought I knew the voice of 
 the man who left us when we pushed off from- 
 the cove." 
 
 *' And who was he ? " 
 
 " A man at Craig and Gresley's called 
 Parker, but I couldn't swear to him, as he- 
 said very little, and it wasn't like his usual 
 way of speaking." 
 
 " And about the others ! would you know 
 them were you to see them again ? " 
 
 " I should know two of them, but I'm not 
 sure about the other ; as soon as it was light 
 he drew the lappets of his felt cap over his 
 face, and there was nothing to be seen but his 
 eyes and nose." 
 
 " Were they natives of St. Hubert do yoa 
 think?" 
 
 " They may have been, or they may have 
 been Englishmen ; they were not Frenchmen,, 
 though the man with the cap spoke French 
 very well, so well that at first I took him tO' 
 be a Frenchman.^ ^ 
 
140 THE r.ANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " And now tell me," pursued the lawyer 
 *' whether to your knowledge any of your 
 friends or acquaintances besides Mr. Fallot's 
 family were aware of your late visit to the 
 island." 
 
 " Not to my knowledge, Mr. Jeffreys." 
 
 *' You may have been recognised on board 
 the steamer ? " 
 
 " I have no reason to think so." 
 
 ''Why?" 
 
 " Because I stayed below the whole time, 
 and when I left the boat I kept my face carefully 
 mujffled, and did so until I reached Mr. 
 Fallot's." 
 
 " But you must have unmuffled it when you 
 wrote that note in my ofl&ce," said the 
 lawyer *' and somebody then may have seen 
 and identified you." 
 
 *' There was nobody there but the clerks 
 and they were strangers to me." 
 
 " Are you quite sure of that ? " 
 
 " Ferfectly." 
 
 '' And you didn't mention jonr name to 
 them, did you Louis ? " 
 
HATJTEVILLE. 141 
 
 '' No, they asked my name, but I declined 
 to give it." 
 
 Here their conyersation was interrupted bj 
 some of Mr. Jeffreys' friends being observed 
 advancing towards them, when the lawyer 
 said in a low voice, '' Eeturn to your work 
 and say nothing to any one of what has 
 happened, I will see you again in a day or 
 two and tell you what I propose doing." 
 
 The young man hesitated for a moment, as 
 if he wished to say something more, and then 
 directing to the lawyer a look full of confidence 
 and hope retraced his steps to the flower- 
 garden. 
 
 The reader has probably seen enough of 
 Lawyer Jeffreys to be satisfied that he was not 
 the kind of man who would be likely to 
 abandon a case whilst there was any chance 
 of his connecting it to a successful issue — 
 this was the leading feature of his character — 
 a fact to which his domestic as well as his 
 professional life bore ample testimony. 
 
 Long and anxiously during the remainder 
 of that day did he ponder all the different 
 
142 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 'Circumstances connected with the strange and 
 providential discovery to which his visit to 
 the Asyle des Alienes had conducted him. 
 Earely in the course of a long and varied 
 legal practice had he had to deal with a case 
 of so delicate and serious a nature as the one 
 now before him, for it not only involved a 
 flagrant breach of trust on the part of the 
 'Chairman of one of the leading commercial 
 establishments of the island, but also a sys- 
 tematic, and alas ! too successful plot by the 
 same individual to deprive an innocent and 
 unoffending fello'i^^- creature of his liberty, by 
 falsely representing him to be of unsound 
 mind', as however the case could not be pro- 
 .ceeded with in the absence of the victim of 
 these wicked acts, the first step to be taken 
 was to procure the discharge of the latter 
 from the asylum ; but before doing this, it 
 would be advisable for him to pursue his 
 inquiries relative to the alleged embezzlement 
 of his client's property. 
 
 He was already in possession of evidence 
 to show that Mr. Craig had directed the 
 
HAUTEVILLE. 143 
 
 purchase of certain French railway shares for 
 his friend and kinswoman, Matilda Le Bas, 
 the points he had now to ascertain were, 
 what had become of those shares, to whom 
 were the dividends paid, and for how long, 
 and what subsequent transfers had been 
 made of the shares. 
 
 These several points Mr. Jeffreys hoped to 
 have cleared up through a personal application 
 at the railway office at Paris — and they were 
 cleared up to his entire satisfaction ! 
 
 The information he there obtained showed 
 that for a period of five years, commencing 
 from 1840, the dividends on the above shares 
 were paid to Mr. Matthew Craig of Les 
 Tourelles in the island of St. Hubert, and 
 afterwards to one Gabriel Yermeil, merchant 
 of Havre. It also appeared from the register 
 of transfers, that in the year 1846 the shares 
 were sold by order of the said Matthew Craio- 
 to the aforenamed Gabriel Vermeil. 
 
 Mr. Jeffreys had found no difficulty in 
 tracing the latter gentleman who was well 
 known in the commercial world as a dabbler 
 
144 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 in Government and other stocks. He had 
 received his visitor most pohtely, and was 
 very communicative not only regarding the 
 particular matter which had led to the lawyer's 
 visit, but respecting his affairs in general. 
 
 " There will be no difficulty whatever ! 
 I can tell you in a minute," he said after 
 his visitor had explained the object of his call. 
 " I keep copies of all transfers — I've done so 
 all my life," and he took from a shelf a 
 volume bound in white vellum and super- 
 scribed " Copies of Transfers." 
 
 '' Paris and Orleans Railway, 1846, vendor 
 Matthew Craig, agioteur, Pierre Rondel," ran 
 on M. Yermeil as he rapidly turned over the 
 leaves of the volume before him. 
 
 " Here's the transaction, M. Jeffreys, and 
 you want the numbers of the shares ? " 
 
 ''If you please M. Yermeil." 
 
 "Here they are then—lSros. 736 to 774." 
 
 " I am exceedingly obliged to you, and am 
 only sorry I should have given so much 
 trouble," returned his visitor, as he made a 
 note of the numbers. 
 
HAUTEVILLE. 145 
 
 " Do not mention it, mj dear sir ; I am 
 only too happy to have had it in my power 
 to serve you," said the merchant. 
 
 ''It is very good of you to say so, M. 
 Vermeil, but I will not detain you any 
 longer," said the lawyer, rising to take his 
 leave. 
 
 " Pray do not hurry away, M. Jeffreys, 
 for I have nothing of importance to do to-day, 
 and besides I wish to ask you a question or 
 two respecting Mr. Craig, the vendor of 
 these shares. I presume you are acquainted 
 with him ? " 
 
 " You are quite right ; I have known Mr. 
 Craig for many years," replied his visitor, 
 resuming his seat. 
 
 " I used to meet a man of that name at 
 Paris many years ago," continued the 
 merchant, " a tall, good-looking man, a 
 native of one of those islands that face our 
 western coast, and about thirty miles from 
 
 X . I wonder if he was the person who 
 
 sold me the shares ! " 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
146 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 "I have little doubt he was, from jour 
 description of him," said the lawyer. 
 
 " Is there anything wrong in connection 
 with that transaction ? '' asked the merchant. 
 
 '' Nothing that can affect you, M. Yermeil, 
 as the transfer is quite in order," replied the 
 lawyer. 
 
 "And now I think of it, M. Jeffreys," 
 continued the merchant, " I signed a 
 transfer for some Chatham and Dovers 
 which my London broker sent me for 
 signature a few months since, and, if my 
 memory does not deceive me, the vendor's 
 name was Crais^." 
 
 " Indeed ! " exclaimed Mr. Jeffreys, who re- 
 membered Mr. Selby's telling him he had 
 bought some Chatham and Dovers, which, 
 alone with his other securities, he had 
 deposited with his bankers, Craig and G-resley. 
 " Indeed ! could you oblige me with the 
 particulars of the transaction ? " 
 
 " Nothing easier ; here it is, Mr. Jeffreys, 
 £2,500 Chatham and Dovers bought in April 
 last ; but I was in error, I observe, in regard 
 
HATJTEVILLE. 147 
 
 to the party wlio sold ; the vendor was not 
 Matthew Craig, but Messrs. Craig and 
 GresJej, bankers of St. Hubert." 
 
 " It is pretty much the same thing, M. 
 Yermei], and I thank you very mucli for the 
 information," said the lawyer, as, bowing to 
 the merchant, he once more rose to take 
 leave, but, suddenly stopping, he said, 
 *' You will excuse me, but I have one more 
 question to ask ; do you happen to know the 
 name of the broker whom Craig and Grresley 
 employed on this occasion ? " 
 
 " I do not," returned the merchant, " but if 
 you are anxious for the information, I could 
 easily obtain it from my broker, and forward 
 it to you by post." 
 
 " If you would not mind the trouble, it 
 would add greatly to the obligation under 
 which you have already placed me," said the 
 lawyer. 
 
 '' I will do so with pleasure," said the 
 merchant, and with this his visitor left him. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 
 
 " The Home and Foreign Loan and Discount 
 Corporation, Limited," which was the high- 
 sounding name of the association, to which 
 Claude Dubois had been appointed secretary, 
 was one of those numerous mushroom under- 
 takings with which the kingdom was flooded 
 in the great mania for speculation that 
 marked the particular period of which we 
 write. Its promoter was one Oliver Gray, 
 an unprincipled adventurer, who by dint of 
 unlimited assurance and a certain amount of 
 shrewdness, had contrived to push his way 
 in the world, and blind it in regard to his 
 real character. 
 
 Having spent several years on the Conti- 
 nent, living entirely by his wits, in the course 
 of which he had visited almost every capital 
 of Europe, he had come to the island of St. 
 Hubert, where his usual good fortune having 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 149 
 
 deserted him, he had sought to repair his 
 fallen fortunes by means of a marriage with 
 a young lady of that place, who was reputed 
 to be very wealthy, no other, indeed, than 
 the ward of our old acquaintance, Mr. Gresley. 
 Having very soon run through his wife's 
 possessions, and considering that the little 
 settlement of St. Hubert presented no 
 suitable field of operation for one of his 
 great and varied talents, Mr. Gray had gone 
 to London, where shortly after, under the 
 auspices and by the material help of Craig 
 and Gresley he had launched the above- 
 named company. At the head of the directors 
 in the grandiose and imposing prospectus by 
 which the undertaking was introduced to the 
 public, appeared the name of Matthew Craig, 
 jurat of the Royal Court of St. Hubert, and 
 chairman of the banking firm ot Craig and 
 Gresley, of the same place. 
 
 It had required, however, all Mr. Gresley' s 
 powers of persuasion to induce his colleague 
 to risk the bank's money in this speculation. 
 The truth was Mr. Craig knew very little of 
 
150 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Mr. Oliver Gray, and was by no means- 
 satisfied as to his qualifications for tlie 
 conduct of a business of so delicate a nature 
 as a loan and discount company ; but the 
 wonderful tact and ability he had displayed 
 in the arrangement and settlement of the 
 various preliminaries, such as securing one 
 or two good men, who were well known in 
 the commercial world, to accept seats at the- 
 board, and in obtaining promises from 
 persons of respectability to open an account 
 with the new office, and by inducing the 
 consent of Messrs. Pritchard and Pym, one 
 of the oldest firms in the city, to act as the 
 company's bankers, had caused Mr. Craig to 
 modify his judgment very materially as ta 
 Mr. Gray's qualifications and talents. 
 
 " I am very glad you have decided to- 
 support ' The Home and Foreign,' Matthew," 
 said his colleague, when the former had; 
 intimated his intention of joining the boarJ 
 of that institution, '' for under Gray's 
 management it is sure to be a success^ 
 
 " But it will need a lot of money to float 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 151 
 
 it, Gresley; and where is it to come 
 from ? " 
 
 '' That's a point we have yet to consider ; 
 but as we are fairly committed to the under- 
 taking, the money must be found somehow," 
 returned the manager very decidedly. 
 
 " It's a pity we couldn't have kept those 
 bonds of Mano^les a little longfer ! " said the 
 chairman. 
 
 " Of course it is ; but you can't have your 
 cake and eat it too," observed the manager. 
 
 '* Of course not," said the other, with a 
 faint attempt at a smile, '' but as there are 
 no available assets, how is the money to be 
 raised ? " 
 
 ''There's Selby's bonds!" suggested the 
 manager. 
 
 " I'd rather not meddle with them unless 
 absolutely obliged," said Mr. Craig ; " our 
 families are very intimate ; besides, Greorge 
 Selby is a man of business, and knows what 
 he is about." 
 
 " The more need then to proceed with 
 caution, that's all," returned the other. 
 
]52 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " I'd rather try and raise the money on the 
 bank's guarantee than meddle with Selby's 
 bonds," continued the chairman. 
 
 " It couldn't be done, Matt ; we 
 couldn't raise more than £4,000, at most ; 
 and Gray will need double that sum to float 
 ' The Home and Foreign.' " 
 
 " Could we raise the required amount in 
 London ? " 
 
 '^ I doubt it ! We might possibly get a 
 loan at 12 or 15 per cent., but it would be 
 the ruin of the bank ; besides. Gray must have 
 the money next week, or the whole affair 
 will collapse." 
 
 " Well, then, we must raise what we can 
 on the security of the bank, and make 
 temporary use of Selby's security to provide 
 the rest. I see no other course." 
 
 " There is no other," said Gresley. 
 
 " By the way, what security do we hold 
 of Selby's ? Do you recollect ? " asked the 
 chairman. 
 
 " Not exactly ; they consist of foreign 
 bonds and some Chatham and Dovers, and 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 153 
 
 would fetcb, I should say, about £5,000 in 
 the open market." 
 
 " Suppose we sell the Chathams, then ! 
 There's always a market for them." 
 
 " Always," said the manager. '' I'll 
 telegraph to Middleton at once, the certifi- 
 cates can follow." 
 
 About a month after the despatch of this 
 order an elderly gentleman was leisurely 
 ascending the steps of Craig and Gresley. It 
 was still early in the day, for the great clock 
 in the adjoining square had not yet struck 
 ten, and as Mr. Selby — for it was he — 
 reached the door of the bank, he found it 
 still closed, and saw a man — no other than 
 ■our acquaintance, John Parker, just com- 
 mencing to open the shutters. 
 
 " I'm afraid I'm a little early for business," 
 began Mr. Selby. 
 
 " The bank's at 'prayers ^^ returned the 
 man. 
 
 " At prayers ! " repeated Mr. Selby, a 
 little surprised. '^ Do you always have 
 prayers, might I ask ? " 
 
154 THE BANKERS OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 "We've done so ever so long, sir; least- 
 ways ever since Mr. Gresley joined the 
 concern." 
 
 '' Indeed ! and is the practice found to 
 answer?" continued Mr. Selby. 
 
 " Well, as to that, sir, there's two ways of 
 thinking ; some considers it the proper thing, 
 whilst some, like my missus, considers it's — 
 it's "— 
 
 " It's what, my good fellow ? " 
 
 " It's all humbug, sir," returned the man, 
 lowering his voice to a whisper, and giving 
 his interrogator a comical twinkle with his 
 eye. 
 
 " But what do you think yourself? '^ 
 pursued Mr. Selby. 
 
 " Me sir? Why, I agrees with my missus. 
 We seldom differs on pints of religion, though 
 we ain't always agreed on other things. At 
 first I thought my missus was wrong about 
 the prayers^ but I quite agrees with her 
 now." 
 
 " And what made you change your opinion^ 
 might I ask ? " 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 155' 
 
 " Something as I overheard Mr. Greslej 
 say to our chairman — that's Mr. Craig, you 
 know." 
 
 " And what was tliat ? " 
 
 " He said to him, with as solemn a face as 
 any Jn'shop, ' Depend upon it, Matthew,' says 
 he, ' no blessing will ever attend our labours 
 if we don't begin the day's work with a 
 prayer J '' 
 
 '* And how long are they usually at 
 prayers ? " asked Mr. Selby, who was getting 
 a little impatient at being kept waiting. 
 
 "How long are tbey at prayers ? That's 
 as it may be," said the man ; '' twenty 
 minutes p'r'aps, and sometimes half an hour, 
 when they finishes with a hymn ! but they 
 won't be so long to-day as the guv'nor's got 
 a cold, and there won't be no hyma." 
 
 " Well, hymn or no hymn, I can't wait 
 any longer," said Mr. Selby, slipping a shilling 
 into the man's hand, '' so tell Mr. Craig, with 
 my compliments, that I'll call agaia at three 
 this afternoon." 
 
 " All right, sir; I'll be sure to tell him the 
 
156 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 moment tliej've done prayers. But, hark ! the 
 guv'nor must be all right, for they're singing 
 away like crickets I and the guv' nor leading." 
 
 But Mr. Selby had gone, having no mind 
 for psalm-singing, and having besides some 
 other pressing matters to attend to. 
 
 In order to explain the cause of that gentle- 
 man's early visit to the bank it will be 
 necessary to revert to the period when Claude 
 Dubois joined his appointment in London, 
 and to mention an occurrence that took 
 place very shortly after he had entered on 
 the duties of his new office. 
 
 Claude was not happy in his appointment, 
 nor had he been from the first day he joined 
 it; he had quickly discovered the true 
 character of the man who directed the affairs 
 of the association with which he was con- 
 nected, and finding him to be a person utterly 
 devoid of principle, he saw there never could 
 be anything in common between them, much 
 less that close intimacy and mutual confidence 
 which ought to subsist between the head of 
 •an office and its secretary. 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 157 
 
 From the very nature of the office he filled 
 it may reasonably be supposed he could not 
 long remain ignorant of the principles on 
 which the affairs of the " Home and Foreign 
 Loan and Discount Corporation " were 
 managed, and of the details of its business in its 
 different departments ; nor had he been many 
 days in the establishment before he arrived at 
 the conviction that if it was an object to him 
 — as it undoubtedly was, to ally himself to a 
 society whose transactions should be con- 
 ducted according to the ordinary rules of 
 commercial morality, he had certainly not 
 exchanged for the better by leaving his 
 guardian's bank and taking his present 
 position. 
 
 But if Claude Dubois was thus unfavour- 
 ably impressed in regard to the association, 
 the managing director was not less unfavour- 
 ably impressed in respect to his youthful 
 secretary. He had too hastily judged the 
 young man's character by that of his guardian 
 and by the character of the institution over 
 which he presided, and never doubted but 
 
168 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 tliat Claude was as lax in his principles as 
 Lis guardian, he had consented to the post of 
 secretary being offered him without troubling 
 himself to make the slightest inquiry relative 
 to the young man's real nature and disposi- 
 tion. 
 
 Another consideration that had influenced 
 Mr. Gray in the matter was the feeling that 
 the countenance and support of Craig and 
 Gresley were absolutely essential to the 
 success of the enterprise to which he was 
 committed, and he thought no better means 
 of securing these could be devised than by 
 his offering Mr. Craig a seat at the board, 
 and his nephew the post of secretary. 
 
 In regard to the latter he soon found he 
 had made a great mistake, and one for which, 
 unhappily, there was no immediate remedy ; 
 for though holding diametrically opposite 
 views, as the two men did, on almost every 
 question connected with the business, never- 
 theless the manager had never once had oc- 
 casion to complain of his secretary's want of 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 159 
 
 attention to his duties, or of tlie way in whicli 
 they were discharged. 
 
 Among these duties was that of making an 
 entry in a book kept specially for the purpose, 
 of the different cheques daily received and 
 payable at the company's bankers, and at the 
 close of each day to take this book to the 
 bankers to be verified. 
 
 One day, some weeks after Claude had 
 joined the oJSice, and when, after completing 
 the entries in the cheque book, he was about 
 to take it to the bankers, the manager re- 
 quested him to look in at Middleton, the 
 broker's, and ask him whether a particular 
 security which had been ordered to be sold 
 on the company's account had yet been 
 realized, and to bring him word accordingly. 
 
 It was not often, if ever, that the secretary 
 had been asked to call at the broker's, but as 
 Middleton' s office lay on the way to the 
 banker's, and as there was no one else at the 
 moment to execute the commission, Mr. Gray 
 had requested Claude to execute it. 
 
160 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Dubois called at the broker's, and having 
 been informed that the security in question 
 had been sold, he was about to quit the oflB.ce» 
 when Mr. Middleton said — ■ 
 
 " By the way, Mr. Dubois, I sent your 
 people advice of a cheque this afternoon for 
 £2,600 on account of a parcel of Chatham and 
 Dovers, sold by order of Craig and Gresley. 
 Did you receive the advice note ? " 
 
 '' No," returned the secretary, ''these are 
 all the cheques that came to-day," running 
 his eye over the various drafts in his diary. 
 
 " It's of no consequence," said the broker, 
 " as the money has been paid to your bankers, 
 and you'll have the advice the first thing to- 
 morrow." 
 
 '' Are you sure it was Chatham and Dovers 
 you sold, Mr. Middleton ? " asked Claude, 
 in as indifferent a tone as he could assume. 
 
 " Quite sure," returned the broker. '* Why 
 do you ask ? '* 
 
 "What was the buyer's name?" pursued 
 Claude, without answering the broker's ques- 
 tion. 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 161 
 
 '* Tlie buyer's name, Mr. Dubois ? I don't 
 really remember, but I understood the dealer 
 to say it was to complete an order from 
 Havre." 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. MiJdleton, good day." 
 
 And Claude Dubois hurried away with a 
 strangre forebodins^ of evil risino- like a dark 
 shadow before him, and a terrible suspicion 
 filling his mind which grew more tangiblb the 
 more he thought about it. 
 
 He had not acted as a confidential clerk in 
 his guardian's bank for nearly a year without 
 having acquired a tolerable intimate know- 
 ledge of the number^ nature, and value of the 
 different securities held by the bank, both on 
 its own account and that of its customers, 
 and in regard to those owned by the bank, 
 and which related for the most part to the 
 various speculative schemes in wbich it was 
 concerned, he had a distinct recollection of 
 them all, and felt certain that up to the time 
 of the resignatioQ of his clerkship, Craig 
 and Gresley possessed no securities whatever 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
162 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 in their own right in any single railway in 
 England. 
 
 On the other hand he was equally certain 
 that among the securities deposited with 
 them by Mr. George Selby, there were several 
 share certificates of the Chatham and Dover 
 line ; indeed those very certificates had 
 passed through his own hands ; he could not 
 therefore be deceived, and if his memory did 
 not play him false, the amount of Mr. Selby's 
 interest in that undertaking corresponded 
 very closely with the amount of railway 
 stock sold that morning by order of Craig and 
 Co. 
 
 These thoughts had rapidly passed through 
 the young man's mind as he pursued his way 
 to the bankers, and long before he had 
 reached their office he had arrived at the con- 
 viction that another and graver fraud than 
 the one of which he was already cognizant, 
 liad been perpetrated by Mr. Craig and his 
 equally unscrupulous colleague, Mr. Gresley. 
 
 He had borne up pretty well against this 
 unexpected trial whilst he was in the broker s 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 163 
 
 office, but when alone in the street, and he 
 could calmly reflect on the probable con- 
 sequences to his guardian and those connected 
 with him from these nefarious acts, he felt 
 the old morbid symptoms gradually stealing 
 over him — an indescribable faintness and 
 sickuess at heart, robbing him of all power of 
 thought and motion. 
 
 Instinctively he clung to the iron railings 
 of a neighbouring house to prevent his fall- 
 ing ; but after this all recollection forsook 
 him, and he remembered nothing further 
 until on opening his eyes he found himself 
 lying back in an easy chair in a chemist's 
 shop with a benevolent old gentleman stand- 
 ing at his side, who was bathing his temples 
 with eau de Cologne. 
 
 " I hope you are feeling better now," said 
 the stranger, in the mildest of accents, as 
 Claude, whose consciousness was fast re- 
 turning, proceeded to thank him for his kind 
 services in having had him removed to the 
 chemist's shop. 
 
 '' I fear," he said, " I may have occasioned 
 
164 THE EA^'KEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 you a deal of trouble, but I am deeply grate- 
 ful for your kindness, particularly as I am 
 a stranger to you." 
 
 '' Pray don't speak of it,'' returned tbe old 
 gentleman. " There was a crowd gathering 
 round you, and I thought you had better be 
 here than in the street ; but as you seem to 
 be quite well again I will wish you good- 
 evening," and the stranger left the shop. 
 
 On his return home Claude pondered long 
 and deeply on all the different circumstances 
 connected with the painful subject that en- 
 grossed his thoughts. How should he pro- 
 ceed ? What was his duty ? Would it be 
 right for him to bring ruin and disgrace on 
 Mr. and Mrs. Craig, who had clothed and fed 
 him from the time he was a little child, and 
 had been second parents to him, in order to 
 save the property of one whose only claim 
 upon him was a friendship commenced within 
 the current year ? 
 
 Should he be the first to brand as a felon 
 the man to whom he owed everything in life ? 
 — his education, his social position, his pre- 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 165 
 
 sent subsistence?— and he groaned inspirit 
 as the terrible thous^ht rose before his mind. 
 Yet, how could he possibly reconcile it to his 
 coDScience to sit idlj looking on, whilst that 
 man was stripping the father of the woman 
 he loved best on earth, of all his earthly 
 possessions. 
 
 " Impossible ! impossible ! " he cried, as in 
 the agony of his feelings, he flung himself on 
 his knees, and prayed long and fervently for 
 strength to discharge the terrible duty that 
 lay before him. 
 
 And his prayer was heard, he rose from 
 his knees no lono^er ao^itated and tossed 
 by anxious doubts and fears, but comforted 
 and strengthened for his task by the inward 
 consciousness that what he was about to do, 
 would meet the approval both of Grod and 
 man. 
 
 The decision to which he came was to 
 convey a friendly warning to Mr. Selby to 
 make an immediate inquiry as to the safety of 
 the securities he had entrusted to Craig and 
 Gresley, and to convey the warning in such 
 
166 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 a shape as not to occasion the recipient any 
 immediate alarm, or even excite a suspicion 
 in his mind as to the security of his property. 
 But how was this to be done ? That was the 
 question he had to consider, and after think- 
 ing it well over, he determined to warn Mr. 
 Selby through the medium of his daughter, 
 Kate. 
 
 He had promised the former before his de- 
 parture for London that he would never again 
 address his daughter by letter or otherwise 
 without his sanction. Would not such a step 
 then as the one he meditated taking amount to 
 a breach of faith on his part in regard to that 
 promise ? He thought not under the circum- 
 stances in which he was placed — and we 
 venture to say the world would endorse his 
 view of the case. Be that as it may, Claude 
 Dubois sat down and wrote the following note 
 to Kate Selby : — 
 
 "Dear Miss Selby, 
 
 " At the risk of suffering in your 
 good opinion in thus breaking my solemn 
 promise to your father that I would not en- 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 167 
 
 gage in any clandestine correspondence with 
 you, I nevertheless feel it my duty to address 
 you, unknown to Mr. Selby, or any other 
 human being, in order to warn your father 
 through the medium of this letter that his 
 various securities would be in safer keeping 
 in the hands of his London bankers than in 
 those of Craio^ and Greslev. I would further 
 entreat you to convey the above warning to 
 him without the delay of a single day, yet in 
 such a way as will not cause him needless 
 alarm, and will leave him also in ignorance of 
 your motive for giving this caution. 
 
 '' Your sincere friend, 
 
 '' Claude Dubois." 
 
 Kate Selby was sorely puzzled by the above 
 communication. She read it over and over 
 again, but without being enabled to form any 
 definite notion as to the nature of the danger- 
 by which her father's property was threatened. 
 That it was threatened by some unknown 
 peril was evident, she thought, not only from, 
 the fact of Claude having written to her at 
 all, but from the tengr of the letter itselL 
 
168 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 And yet if the securities — as tlie letter would 
 seem to imply — ivere no longer safe in Messrs. 
 Craig^s keeping, how would it be possible (she 
 argued) for lier to communicate this in- 
 telliofence to lier father without causing^ him 
 great and natural alarm, and without her 
 havino^ recourse to some subterfusre in order 
 to conceal from him the source of her own 
 fears. 
 
 It happened about this particular time that 
 a series of house robberies had taken place 
 in and around the town of Delieraont, which 
 had baffled all the efforts of the police to 
 discover, and in consequence a general sense 
 of insecurity had taken possession of the 
 public mind. 
 
 Now it occurred to Miss Selby in the 
 dilemma in which she found herself placed, 
 that the feeling of apprehension that per- 
 yaded the community in reference to these 
 robberies would afford her an excellent pre- 
 text for urging on her father the expediency of 
 removing his bonds from the custody of Craig 
 
CLAUDE JOINS HIS NEW APPOINTMENT. 169 
 
 and Gresley and placing them with Messrs. 
 Howell. 
 
 '' You are perfectly right, my child," said 
 Mr. Selby, after his daughter had made the 
 above suo^sfestion. '' The shares would be 
 far safer with Howell than here. I will call 
 at the bank to-morrow and give the necessary 
 order." 
 
 Hence Mr. Selby's visit to the bank on the 
 following morning, and the important events 
 that followed that gentleman's message to 
 Mr. Craig. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE LANK GETS INTO TROUBLE. 
 
 " There, that will do, you can go now. And 
 mind what I say about your attendance at 
 prayers ; you know the rules as well as I 
 do." 
 
 The speaker was Mr. Craig, who with the 
 manager were the only persons left in the 
 bank parlour, the rest of the einployes, on 
 the conclusion of prayers, had withdrawn to 
 their respective duties, and the party he 
 addressed was Jchn Parker, who had just 
 delivered Mr. Selby's message. 
 
 '' I half expecti^d this, Grresley," began- 
 the chairman as so m as Parker was gone» 
 " for it was only } esterday that Selby was 
 inquiring about his bonds, and though I told, 
 him they were with Howell, and that we 
 held their receipt, I could see by his manner 
 he was not satisfied." 
 
 " It certainly looks saspicious his thinking 
 
THE BANK GETS INTO TROUBLE. 171 
 
 ifc necessary to call at the bank twice on the 
 same day,'' observed the manager. 
 
 " Of course, what he wants is to see 
 Howell's receipt," said the chairman. 
 
 " And we must be prepared to show it," 
 said the other. 
 
 *' Well, but how to satisfy him about the 
 Chatham and Do vers ? " 
 
 " That's the great difficulty, of course ; 
 and we've not much time to think it over." 
 
 " I was afraid that business would get us 
 into trouble, Gresley. What's to be done ? 
 Can't you think of anything ? " asked the 
 chairman helplessly. 
 
 There was a pause of several minutes 
 before he replied. At length he exclaimed, 
 as he hurried to the door — 
 
 " I have it. Matt ! I have it ! " In another 
 minute he reappeared, bringing some letters 
 along with him. " Here's Howell's receipt," 
 he began, '' it bears date t\i.e tenth of April , 
 and here's the brokers receipt for the 
 Chatham and Dovers that went up on the 
 fifteenth^ or five days later. Now, what I 
 
172 THE EANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 i\ro-ald suggest is to insert the words ^ pro 
 Howell and Co. ' above the broker's signa- 
 ture, so as to make it appear he was signing 
 for the banking firm, and if Selbj should 
 ask to see the receipt, the broker's letter, 
 with this trifling addition to it, though not 
 quite regular, perhaps, would be pretty sure 
 to pass muster. Should he then wish us to 
 explain why the Chathams were not sent up 
 with the other securities, we could invent 
 some excuse — they could not be found at 
 the moment, having got mixed up with other 
 bonds and securities, and in consequence were 
 not forwarded till some days later." 
 
 " Ton my word, Philip ! " exclaimed his 
 colleague, after listening with profound atten- 
 tion to the above suggestion, ''you're a 
 wonderful fellow ! Who on earth but your- 
 self would have ever dreamt of so admirable, 
 and yet so simple a way of solving the 
 difl&culty ? And then the risk is purely 
 nominal." 
 
 " Well, as to that, I suppose we're safe 
 •enough as long as we retain possession of 
 
THK BANK GETS INTO TROUBLE. 173 
 
 Middleton's receipt — for that little addition 
 to it miglit be looked upon bj some people 
 as a mild land of forgery. "^^ 
 
 " It might in England, perhaps, but not 
 here," returned the banker very composedly. 
 
 " Then we had better proceed to business 
 at once," said the manager, handing the 
 broker's letter and a pen to his colleague. 
 
 " No, no, Gresley," blandlj^ returned the 
 other. '' You had better make the alteration 
 yourself; you write so much steadier than I, 
 and would make a far better couoterfeit of 
 Middleton's handwriting^ than ever I could — 
 besides, the idea, you know, originated with 
 you." 
 
 Mr. Grresley said nothing further, but 
 dipped his pen into the inkstand and pro- 
 ceeded to alter the letter in the mode he had 
 suggested, and which, to do him justice, he 
 accomplished in a manner that would have 
 done credit to a practised forger. 
 
 It was well they had acted with such 
 promptitude, for with the punctuality for 
 which he was noted, Mr. Selby re-entered 
 
174 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 the bank premises exactly as the big clock 
 of the town church struck the hour of three. 
 
 " I should like to see the chairman," he 
 said, addressing one of the clerks who was 
 counting some notes behind one of the 
 counters. 
 
 " He's not likely to be at the bank to-day, 
 sir," replied the clerk, " as it's a court day ; 
 but the manager is here if you would like to 
 see him. This way, sir," continued the 
 clerk, moving towards the bank parlour as 
 Mr. Selby briefly intimated his wish to see 
 the manager. 
 
 " I've merely called to get the date of your 
 banker's receipt for my securities," said Mr. 
 Selb^^, as he took a seat beside the manager. 
 " I understand you have already sent them 
 to Messrs. HowelJ, and as Mr. Craig tells 
 me I can see tbe receipt at any time, I 
 presume you will have no difficulty in 
 putting your hand upon it." 
 
 " None whatever, Mr. Selby ; we have only 
 one place for this description of documents," 
 and rising from his chair he opened a small 
 
THE BANK GETS INTO TROUBLE. 175 
 
 iron safe tliat stood in the cornc r of the room 
 and took from it two papers, which he placed 
 before his visitor. " Here aro the receipts 
 for your securities. I should observe, how- 
 ever, that your Chatham and Dovers were 
 not sent up till five days after the others in 
 consequence of their haviug accidentally got 
 mixed up with the bonds of another customer, 
 so there is a separate receipt for them." 
 
 " ril just make a rough copy of the re- 
 ceipts, if you will allow me," said Mr. Selby, 
 taking out his pencil-case. '' But how is it," 
 he asked, on seeing the signature to the 
 second receipt, ''that the firm did not sign 
 this as well as the other ? It is not usual, 
 I believe, for a firm to sign such papers by 
 proxy y 
 
 " Quite true, Mr. Selby ; but Middleton 
 has full authority to sign, as we were 
 advised by the firm more than a year ago," 
 ■ coolly replied the manager. 
 
 " Of course, that alters the case entirely," 
 returned Mr. Selby, rising from his seat and 
 moving to the door. 
 
176 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 On liis return home, Mr. Selbj told his- 
 dauo^liter that he had been to the bank and had 
 found on inquiry that his securities were safe 
 in Messrs. Howell's hands, and that he had 
 seen their receipts ; so Miss Selby sat down 
 at once and wrote Claude Dubois a full 
 account of her father's interview with Mr. 
 Gresley, and the satisfactory result that had 
 attended it. But though both father and 
 daughter were no longer under any appre- 
 hension in regard to the safety of the^ 
 former's funded property, Claude's fears on 
 the subject were in no wise diminished, and he 
 determined to take an early opportuuity of 
 calling^ at Messrs. Howell's in order to 
 satisfy his doubts as to the safety of his 
 friend's securities. 
 
 He had not wished to make this affair of 
 Mr. Selby 's the occasion of a special visit to 
 those gentlemen, thinking he might shortly, 
 in his official capacitj^ have occasion to call 
 upon them ; but after waiting for some weeks 
 without anything occurring in the wa}^ of 
 business that required his personal attend- 
 
THE BANK GETS INTO TROUBLE. 177 
 
 ance at Messrs. Howell's, lie resolved to 
 wait no longer, but to call at tlieir office the 
 first time he might chance to be in the 
 neighbourhood. The unexpected receipt of 
 the following note from Miss Selby deter- 
 mined him to give immediate effect to that 
 resolution : — 
 
 "Dear Mr. Dubois, — 
 
 " Owing to some unpleasant rumours 
 respecting Mr. Craig's bank which have 
 been lately circulated in St. Hubert, my 
 dear father does not feel quite easy about 
 the securities he placed in his hands shortly 
 after our arrival in the island. And though 
 he has been assured both by Mr. Craig and 
 the manager that they are safe with the 
 bank's agents in London, Messrs. Howell, 
 whose receipts for the same of the 10th and 
 15th April my father has seen ; still, he is not 
 fully satisfied that his certificates are secure, 
 particularly as one of the receipts was signed 
 not by Messrs. Howell themselves^ but by 
 one Chaiies Middleton on their behalf. I 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
178 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 liope it is all right, but I can see mj father 
 is very uneasy about that receipt, and, there- 
 fore, it would be a great comfort to him if 
 it could be ascertained from Messrs. Howell 
 whether Mr. Middleton was authorised to 
 sign such papers for them or not. My 
 father is unwilling to write to Messrs. 
 Howell himself, as it would seem to imply, 
 he thinks, that he doubted Mr. Grresley's 
 word, who had told him that Mr. Middleton 
 was authorised to sign for the firm, 
 " Yours sincerely, 
 
 " Kate Selby." 
 
 In less than an hour after the receipt of the 
 above note Claude Dubois found himself at 
 Messrs. Howell's, and talking to Mr. Norris, 
 the cashier, to whom he was personally 
 known. 
 
 " I come, Mr. Norris," he began, " to 
 inquire about a matter in which some corres- 
 pondence has lately taken place between 
 myself and a friend of mine at St. Hubert. 
 It relates to some securities of my friend 
 Mr. George Selby, of Roseneath, in that 
 
THE bank: gets into teouble. 179 
 
 island, wliicli lie directed his bankers, Craig 
 and Co., to send up to your care several 
 months ago ; and the point upon which I 
 seek information is whether among those 
 securities there were or were not some cer- 
 tificates of the Chatham and Dover pre- 
 ferential stock. The reason I ask for this 
 information is because the stock in question 
 is not included in your receipt to Messrs. 
 Craig of the 10th April last, but is acknow- 
 ledged in a separate receipt dated five days 
 later and signed by one Charles Middleton in 
 the name and on behalf of your firm." 
 
 " Chaeles Middleton ! In the name and 
 ON BEHALF OE OUR FIRM ! " exclaimed the 
 bewildered cashier. " There must be some 
 great mistake somewhere, Mr. Dubois ! 
 Are you sure you have stated the facts 
 correctly ?" 
 
 " Perfectly sure," replied the young 
 man. 
 
 " Then please step this way," said Mr. 
 Norris — and he led the way into a small room 
 adjoining the banking office, and closing the 
 
180 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 5oor after his visitor, he proceeded to take 
 from a shelf a thick-set volume on which was 
 inscribed the words " Safe Custody Receipts/* 
 and after referring to the same for a few 
 minutes, he said turning to his companion 
 " Here is a copy of our receipt of the 10th 
 April, Mr. Dubois, but I can find no trace of 
 any second receipt ; the first receipt of course 
 is genuine, the second must be a forgeryy 
 but if," he continued " you should desire it, 
 we will communicate with Messrs. Craig on 
 the subject, and they may be able perhaps to 
 explain the matter which at present, certainly 
 wears rather an awkward aspect ; what shall 
 we do? " 
 
 " I would rather you did not move any 
 further in the matter at present, Mr. Norris," 
 said Claude, who though prepared to hear that 
 the second receipt was a forgery, had not yet 
 decided what step it would be his duty next 
 to take. 
 
 *' Yery well, Mr. Dubois, we shall take no 
 further notice of the affair until we hear from 
 
THE BANK GETS INTO TEOTJBLE. 181 
 
 you again, or should we be led to make any 
 additional inquiries we shall certainly let you 
 know." 
 
 '' I have yet another question to ask in 
 connection with this business, Mr. Norris, 
 and as it is one you can probably answer 
 without much trouble, I feel I need not 
 apologize for trespassing a few minutes longer 
 on your time. I wish to be informed when 
 they forwarded you these securities, whether 
 Messrs. Craig gave you to understand that 
 they did not belong to the bank, but were the 
 property of a customer, Mr. George Selby of 
 Roseneath." 
 
 " I have no difficulty whatever in answer- 
 ing your question Mr. Dubois, indeed I can 
 do so without even referring to our books. 
 No mention was made respecting the owner- 
 ship of the securities wheu they were 
 forwarded to us by Messrs. Craig, but as 
 their account was overdrawn at the time, we 
 considered the bonds to have been sent us as 
 a collateral security for our advance to them ; 
 
182 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 but as their overdraft has since been paid, 
 those securities are again at our correspond- 
 ent's disposal." 
 
 " Heaven be praised ! " mentally exclaimed 
 Claude, " then these may yet be saved ! " 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE LAW OF TENURE AT ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Poor George Selby ! His career as we 
 know liad not been a fortunate one ! and now 
 tliat lie was advanced in years and tlie sands 
 of life were fast running out, there was still 
 no sign that happier days were in store for 
 him ; as he had been in the past, so was he to 
 continue, apparently, to the end — the sport of 
 fortune and the victim of a cruel and re- 
 morseless fate ! We have seen, though it was^ 
 still hid from himself, how through the dis- 
 honesty of his bankers he had already been 
 stripped of a considerable portion of his- 
 worldly substance, and in what a perilous- 
 position stood the remainder ; but this was 
 not the full extent of the evils by whicli he was 
 beset ! for the very roof that sheltered him, his 
 daughter's future home as he hoped, was 
 about to be assailed ! and his title to it called 
 in question. 
 
184 THE BAXKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 It was on the previous day to that on which 
 Claude Dubois had made the discoverv de- 
 scribed at the close of our last chapter, that 
 one of Mr. Selby's servants entering the 
 library where her master was engaged in 
 writing, announced that a stranger was in 
 the hall and desired to see him. 
 
 " Tell him to send in his card, or to state 
 the nature of his business," said Mr. Selby, 
 going on with the letter he was writiug. 
 
 The servant returned after a minute or 
 two. 
 
 "Please sir," she said "the gentleman's 
 name is Renouf, and he comes from the 
 sheriff, he says, but he can't explain his 
 business except to yourself." 
 
 '' Yery well, show him into the morning 
 room, I'll be there presently." 
 
 " Well sir, to what am I indebted for this 
 visit? " began Mr. Selby, addressing a rather 
 pleasant-looking middle-aged man, whom, on 
 entering the room, he found already seated, 
 and holding a newspaper in his hand. 
 
 "It's to make some inquiries about this 
 
THE LAW OF TENURE AT ST. HUBERT. 185 
 
 property ol Roseneath that I have been di- 
 rected to call," said the stranger. 
 
 " Indeed ! Please to state their nature as 
 briefly as possible," returned Mr. Selby with 
 a slight air of impatience. 
 
 *'The property is not your own, I under- 
 stand, Mr. Selby, having been transferred by 
 you to the late Mr. Mackillop," began the 
 ^stranger. 
 
 ■"' The late Mr. Mackillop I " repeated Mr. 
 Selby " you don't mean to say that Mr. 
 Mackillop is dead ? " he asked with an 
 anxiety he didn't strive to conceal. 
 
 " Yes, but he is, and buried too by this 
 time, didn't you know it sir?" and opening 
 the outer sheet of the Times, he read out the 
 following notice. 
 
 ''Died suddenly on the 15th ult., at his 
 residence, 40a, Montagu Square, Charles 
 Mackillop, Esq., late of Calcutta, deeply 
 regretted." 
 
 Mr. Selby put out his hand mechanically 
 to take the paper, for he was too much over- 
 come at first to give expression to his feelings 
 
186 THE EANKEES OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 in words ; at length after reading the obituary 
 all doubt was at an end as to the fact of his 
 friend's death, and as soon as he had 
 sufficiently recovered his composure he said 
 " And what might I ask has the sheriff to do 
 with me or E^oseneath in connection with this 
 gentleman's death ? " 
 
 " A very great deal, sir, as I shall proceed 
 to explain," said the pleasant-looking middle- 
 aged man. " Roseneath, as I before observed 
 is not your property, Mr. Selby, having been 
 transferred by you to the late Mr. Mackillop, 
 — I am correct am I not in stating the 
 property to have been so transferred ? " 
 
 '' Perfectly correct, Mr. Eenouf, but the 
 transfer was a nominal one, and not intended 
 to confer any proprietary right on the trans- 
 feree, but was made simply to enable him and 
 myself to carry out certain family arrange- 
 ments of our own." 
 
 " Possibly, but with such arrangements the 
 law has no concern," said the stranger. " The 
 case is a very simple one Mr. Selby, we find 
 Mr. Charles Mackillop to be the registered 
 
THE LAW OF TENURE AT ST. HUBERT. 187 
 
 proprietor of Roseneath, his death is reported 
 to us in the usual manner ; on inquiry we 
 find he has left no family, and was never 
 married, and that in his will there is no 
 mention made of the property in question ; 
 in such cases the law directs, pending the 
 legal inquiry that must be instituted to decide 
 who is the heir-at-law , that the lord of the 
 manor, who in the present instance is the 
 Sheriff of Deliemont, should take possession 
 of the property for a year and a day, and 
 during such period should enjoy the same 
 rights and privileges as if he himself were the 
 rightful owner of the estate." 
 
 '^Do you mean to say then that the sheriff 
 is going to turn me out of my own house, Mr. 
 Renouf," exclaimed Mr. Selby, now fairly 
 alarmed at the terrible mess into which he 
 had been brought by the stupidity or some- 
 thing worse of his lawyer, Jules Dubois. 
 
 " Not exactly that, Mr. Selby ; he would 
 only become your landlord for a limited time 
 during which you would have to pay him 
 rent ; that's all ! '' 
 
188 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " And if I should decline to pay rent Mr. 
 Eenouf ? " 
 
 " He would look elsewhere for some one who 
 would." 
 
 " In other words if I didn't ag^ree to his 
 terms he would turn me out of my house, as 
 I said before." 
 
 ''Well sir, as you would have to quit, it 
 would amount to that in point of fact." 
 
 " But are you sure you are acting in 
 accordance with the law in this business, Mr. 
 Renouf ? " said Mr. Selby, who in face of 
 Mr. Jules' positive assurance that the transfer 
 to Mr. Mackillop would involve no risk of any 
 kind, could not even now believe that 
 E,oseneath was in danger. 
 
 "There can be no question as to the law, 
 Mr. Selby, but should you entertain any doubt 
 about it, Mr. Jeffreys or any other lawyer 
 in the place could easily explain it to 
 you." 
 
 " I should certainly wish to consult some 
 one before surrendering the property," 
 rejoined Mr. Selby '' particularly as the 
 
THE LAW OF TENUEE AT ST. HUBEET. 189' 
 
 transfer to Mr. Mackillop was made under 
 legal advice.'' 
 
 " Might I inquire whom you consulted on 
 that occasion," asked the sheriff's officer. 
 
 " Mr. Jules Dubois." 
 
 " Mr. Jules Dubois ! And he told jou it was 
 allrio^ht, did he?" pursued the official. 
 
 " He told me — to use his own words — that 
 my daughter was absolutely secured,''^ 
 
 " Then he told you a gross falsehood, Mr. 
 Selby ! Our laws I own are rather peculiar 
 and difficult for a foreigner to understand, 
 butnooneknows them better, or ouo^ht to know 
 them better than Jules Dubois, and I do like 
 to find honesty in all trades." 
 
 ''But I don't accuse Mr. Jules of dis- 
 honesty," said Mr. Selby, whose faith in his 
 lawyer's integrity remained unshaken despite 
 the bluntly expressed opinion of the sheriff's 
 officer to the contrary. " But to return 
 to the subject of the rent Mr. Renouf, and 
 assuming your exposition of the law to be 
 correct, might I ask on what terms the 
 sheriff would allow me to retain possession?'' 
 
190 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 "On your engaging to pay him a rental for 
 the year of a hundred 'pounds. The property 
 was sold whether nominally or otherwise for 
 £2,500, and supposing this to be a fair 
 valuation, the sheriff has fixed the rental at 
 £100." 
 
 " And within what time would it be neces- 
 sary for you to know my decision Mr. 
 Renouf ? " 
 
 " Within seven days, and if you will allow 
 me I will call this day week to learn it," and 
 with this understandino; the official from the 
 sheriff's office took his leave. 
 
 The first step Mr. Selby took was to call 
 the next morning on Mr. Jeffreys. 
 
 This gentleman whom we last took leave 
 of in the office of Mr. Yermeil, at Havre, had 
 just returned from France, and among the 
 letters he found awaiting him at St. Hubert, 
 was one from that gentleman giving him, as 
 requested, the name and address of the 
 broker in London who had sold the Chatham 
 and Dover stock for Craig and Gresley. 
 
 It was the lawyer's intention to take an. 
 
THE LAW OF TENURE AT ST. HUBERT. 191 
 
 early opportunity of asking Mr. Selby for full 
 particulars regarding the shares he held in 
 that company, and which he had understood 
 him to say he had deposited with Messrs. 
 Craig. He was desirous to satisfy himself as 
 soon as possible, whether there was really 
 any good ground for suspecting, as he did, 
 that the shares recently sold by their order, 
 were no other than those they held in trust for 
 Mr. Selby. When therefore that gentleman 
 called himself on Mr. Jeffreys, on the morn- 
 ing after his interview with Mr. Renouf, the 
 lawyer felt pleased that the opportunity of 
 clearing up all doubt on that subject was so 
 soon afforded him, 
 
 " I am come to ask your advice, Mr. 
 Jeffreys," began Mr. Selby, " on a matter 
 which, if the law has been rightly explained 
 to me, is likely to entail very disastrous con- 
 sequences on myself and family." 
 
 He then stated the several facts already 
 known to the reader, in connection with the 
 acquisition of Eoseneath, his views respecting 
 the testamentary disposal of that property. 
 
192 THE BANKEES OF ST. HdBEET. 
 
 and the subsequent transfer of it by advice 
 of his lawyer, to his deceased friend, Mr.. 
 Mackillop, down to the close of his interview 
 with the sheriff's officer. 
 
 " It is a most unfortunate business, Mr 
 Selby," said the lawyer, after the former had 
 finished his recital, " and I wish I could see 
 the end of it, but as the conveyance itself was 
 legal, though the object sought by it was not 
 so, it cannot be set aside ; it could only be 
 annulled on the single ground of fraud — and 
 no fraud would seem to have been practised 
 by either party to the transfer. The trans- 
 action at the same time was most irregular, 
 and ought never to have taken place, and it 
 never could have taken place had the risks in- 
 volved in it been properly explained to you by 
 your legal adviser. Your lawyer however 
 apparently never troubled himself to consider 
 the effect of Mr. Mackillop's 'predeceasing you, 
 as has unfortunately been the case, and the 
 fact of his having died without leaving any 
 family will still further complicate the 
 matter, for until the question is decided as to 
 
THE LAW OF TENUEE AT ST. HUBERT. 193 
 
 wliom the property now belongs, no steps 
 can be taken on your part to establish your 
 title to it. In the meantime in virtue of his 
 manorial right, the sheriff will take possession 
 for a year and a day, during which time 
 should you be desirous of remaining at Rose- 
 neath, you could only do so by engaging to 
 pay him a certain fixed rental for the period 
 specified. When once the question of heir- 
 ship is settled, the proper course for you to 
 pursue would be to bring a friendly action 
 aofainst the heir for restoration of the estate. 
 It will be a tedious and somewhat expensive 
 affair I fear, but that can't be helped, and as 
 it would doubtless be an object to you to 
 incur as little expense as possible, it might 
 perhaps be your best policy to entrust Mr. 
 Jules with the conduct of the business, on 
 the ground that as he had brought you into 
 the scrape, he was in duty bound to get you 
 out of it at as little cost as possible, and with« 
 out making any charge for his own services. 
 It is possible however, that a sense of shame 
 VOL. I. 
 
194 THE r.ANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 and the dread of public exposure, might 
 deter him from taking up the case, if so, let 
 me know, and I will undertake it mjself." 
 
 Mr. Selby thanked the lawyer for his advice 
 and offer of assistance, and was about to 
 leave, when the latter said — 
 
 '* Stay a moment, there is another matter 
 on which. I wish to speak to you particularly 
 — a matter in which your interests, I fear, will 
 be found to be seriously affected." He then 
 informed his visitor of the recent sale by 
 Messrs. Craig and Gresley, through their 
 broker, Charles Middleton, of certain pre- 
 ferential shares of the Chatham and Dover 
 Eailway, which from the fact of their corres- 
 ponding very closely with those he had un- 
 derstood him to say they held on his account, 
 he was apprehensive might prove to be the 
 same shares, 
 
 ** But are you sure, Mr. Jeffreys, that the 
 broker's name was Middleton f Charles 
 Middleton?'' anxiously asked Mr. Selby, 
 *' the same name that is on this receipt of 
 B.owell^' taking from his pocket-book the 
 
THE LAW OF TENURE AT ST. HUBERT. 195 
 
 rough copy lie had made of that document 
 at the bank some months before, and handing 
 it to the lawyer. 
 
 " There is no mistake about the name, 
 none whatever, Mr. Selby, here it is in black 
 and white," handing his visitor the note he 
 had received from Mr. Yermeil, " but what 
 conclusively proves the receipt to be a forgery^ 
 is the fact, as the note shows, that the date 
 on which the shares were sold by Charles 
 Middleton, was the fifteenth of April, or the 
 same date as that of the receipt given by him 
 to Messrs. Craig, on behalf of Messrs. Howell, 
 for a precisely similar amount of the same 
 stock.^^ 
 
 " Then, if I rightly understand you, Mr. 
 Jeffreys, you are of opinion that the document 
 dated the fifteenth April, which was shown 
 to me by Mr. Gresley, as their London 
 banker's receipt for my Chatham and Dover 
 stock, was nothing more nor less than their 
 broker's receipt for the same stock which the 
 bank had sent up to him for sale on the pre- 
 vious day, and that it was subsequently 
 
196 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 altered by them by the insertion in it of the 
 words pro Howell and Co., with a view of 
 deceiving me into the belief that it was a 
 bond fide receipt of the London bank." 
 
 " That is exactly my view of the case," re- 
 turned the lawyer, " but though everything 
 would point to this conclusion, I am doubtful 
 whether the evidence we possess at present 
 would justify our proceeding against the bank 
 yet. It will first be necessary, I consider, to 
 ascertain whether Messrs. Howell ever re- 
 ceived your Chatham and Dover stock, and if 
 so, did they authorise the person whose name 
 is affixed to the receipt, of the fifteenth April to 
 sign that receipt or not. Should the bankers 
 profess entire ignorance relative to the 
 securities, as I expect they will, and the 
 broker should admit the genuineness of the 
 receipt, but ignore and repudiate the sub- 
 sequent interpolation in it of the words pro 
 Howell and Co., the twofold charge of 
 breach of trust, and forgery will be clearly 
 established ; but until full inquiry has been 
 made on these points it would be premature to 
 
THE LAW OP TENURE AT ST. HUBERT. 197 
 
 take any proceedings. I would suggest your 
 making the necessary inquiries personally^ 
 Mr. Selby, and with the least possible delay ; 
 if practicable, I would recommend your leav- 
 ing for London by to-morrow's boat." 
 
 Sorrowfully and almost heart-broken, 
 George Selby pursued his homeward course. 
 He had borne up well enough whilst in the 
 lawyer's office; the excitement of the scene 
 in which he had just engaged^ and a vague 
 sort of hope that the lawyer might help him 
 out of his difficulties had kept him np when 
 there. Once alone however, and when left 
 to the unrestrained indulgence of his 
 thoughts, he began to realize the true 
 measure of the double calamity that had be- 
 fallen him. What had he done ? he asked 
 himself, that fortune should thus continue to 
 persecute him ? 
 
 N'ever since the great commercial crisis 
 that had overwhelmed his own and other 
 commercial firms in India more than twenty 
 years before, had such a series of misfortunes 
 overtaken him. Then however he was com- 
 
198 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 paratively young, if not in years, in energy 
 and in hope ; but what was he now ? a feeble, 
 grey-headed old man, with all his powers 
 crushed and deadened by the continued pur- 
 suit of a stern and relentless fate. Then he 
 had set himself to begin the world afresh, 
 and if he had not made a fortune, he had 
 realised a competence sufficient for all his 
 own and his daughter's wants, but now what 
 could he do, or hope to do, to repair the 
 terrible disaster that had come upon him ? 
 Alas ! nothing, there was nothing left him 
 now but desolation and despair. 
 
 Whilst indulging these painful reflections, 
 and whilst still undecided how to act, a ser- 
 vant entered, and placed a telegram before 
 him ; hastily opening it, he read as follows — 
 
 *' Cross to Southampton to-morrow, I will 
 meet you there. Matters of the utmost 
 moment demand your presence in London. 
 Telegraph reply, and fail not to come as yoa 
 value your future welfare and that of your 
 family." J 
 
THE LAW OF TENURE AT ST. HUBERT. 199 
 
 Claude's message, for it was his, at once 
 determined liim. 
 
 '' Yes ! " he exclaimed, " I'll go, I'd better 
 go. I shall have one friend at least to help 
 me, and for the rest I must trust to Grod." 
 And Greorge Selbj embarked for Southampton 
 on the following day. 
 
 Claude was at the landing place awaiting 
 his arrival, and had already recognised him 
 among the crowd of passengers that thronged 
 the deck. Mr. Selby warmly pressed the 
 young man's hand as he stepped ashore, 
 neither spoke, but followed slowly with the 
 crowd to the Custom House. 
 
 Mr. Selby was the first to break the silence. 
 
 '' I know it all," he said, " I know it all,, 
 my young friend, you have behaved nobly, 
 Claude, but your warning comes too late.^' 
 
 "Not too late I trust to save the bonds,"" 
 he returned, and he entered into a detailed 
 account of all that had happened to excite 
 his suspicions of the bank, both whilst he 
 was serving as a clerk in it himself, and 
 
200 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 since he had left it, not oraittino^ to mention 
 the warning he had sent Mr. Selbj through 
 his daughter some months before. 
 
 " Oh, that you had conveyed that warning 
 in less ambiguous terms, Claude, and sent it 
 direct to me instead of my daughter, I might 
 then perhaps have been in time to save the 
 railway shares, which now are irrecoverably 
 lost." 
 
 " I had no absolute proof at that time, Mr. 
 Selby, but a mere surmise that your securi- 
 ties had been tampered with, and I did not 
 wish to needlessly alarm you," he replied, 
 " and then — and then — without the clearest 
 proof of my guardian's guilt, T shrank from 
 charging him with — how shall I name it, Mr. 
 Selby, with felony I " 
 
 " Oh, Claude, would that I possessed the 
 means of testifying in some other way than 
 by words alone, my grateful sense of your 
 generous, self-sacrificing conduct, but, alas ! 
 I am now a ruined man, and the tribute of a 
 grateful heart is all I have to offer you.'' 
 
 " That is not all, sir, that is not all you 
 
THE LAW OF TENURE AT ST. HUBERT. 201 
 
 "have to offer ! " eagerly exclaimed tlie young 
 man, '' you have a more precious, a far more 
 precious gift to offer me — your permission to 
 renew my intercourse with your daughter, 
 and to marry her should I ever be in circum- 
 f^tances to do so." 
 
 Claude could not have chosen a more 
 favourable time to press his suit, for he had 
 just afforded Mr. Selby such unmistakable 
 proof of his high sense of honour in not 
 scrupling to sacrifice his guardian and the 
 good name of his family in his endeavour to 
 save his friend's property, and Mr. Selby had 
 expressed such unqualified admiration of his 
 conduct, and felt so tenderly towards him, 
 that there was nothing he could have asked 
 of him at that moment that he would not 
 have cheerfully given him. When therefore 
 he recurred to his attachment to his daughter, 
 and besought him to give his consent to their 
 union, should circumstances ever admit of 
 their marrying, George Selby felt he could 
 no longer refuse the request, and he readily 
 ^answered that if Providence should see fit to 
 
202 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 bless his exertions, he would no longer refuse 
 his sanction to the marriage. 
 
 We will not follow Mr. Selbj to London, 
 nor enter on a detail of his inquiries when 
 there, it will suflSce to saj that he found his 
 railway shares had been disposed of in the 
 mode already described, he had the satisfac- 
 tion however of finding that his other 
 securities were safe, and would be delivered 
 up to him on his making application for them 
 in the usual way through his bankers at St. 
 Hubert. He had written accordingly to the 
 latter, by the same day's post, to send Messrs. 
 Howell the needful authority, for their sur- 
 render ; he made no allusion however in his 
 letter to the Chatham and Dover securities, 
 thinking it best to observe the strictest 
 silence respecting them until his return home, 
 and till he should have consulted Jeffreys as 
 to his future course of action. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MR. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 
 
 " Those Chatham and Dovers of Selby's must 
 be replaced, and quickly too," said the 
 manager, putting Mr. Selby's application for 
 the surrender of his remaining securities into 
 the chairman's hand. "How fortunate 
 our overdraft at Howell's is paid, and that 
 there will be no difficulty about the other 
 stocks." 
 
 " But why must they be replaced ? '* 
 innocently asked the chairman. *' The Chat- 
 hams are not even alluded to in Selby's 
 letter." 
 
 " The very reason why we should take the 
 initiative and replace them while we can,'^ 
 returned the other. " You don't suppose, da 
 you, that Selby would have gone to London 
 to ask about his Dutch bonds without asking 
 about his other stock too ? " 
 
204 THE BANKEES OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " I don't know what to suppose ; but how 
 are they to be replaced ? " 
 
 " Why, by telegraphing to Middleton to 
 buy them back." 
 
 " And how are they to be paid for ? " 
 
 " Through an advance on our new notes." 
 
 " New notes ! I thought it was settled at 
 our last board meeting that there should be 
 no further issues ? " 
 
 " So it was ; but ^what of that ? There's 
 no record of the proceedings. Besides, the 
 notes will be all antedated ! " 
 
 *' So that it should appear they loere printed 
 and in circulation before the board's resolu- 
 tion was passed," said the chairman, in- 
 quiringly. 
 
 " Precisely." 
 
 *' There's no restriction, is there, as to the 
 number of notes we can issue ? " pursued the 
 chairman, who now fully realized the situa- 
 tion and the necessity for immediate action if 
 they wished to save the bank from a criminal 
 prosecution. 
 
 '^No! there's no restriction whatever; it 
 
MR. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 205 
 
 rests with the chairman to fix the number,"^ 
 returned the other. 
 
 " How many new notes have you ordered, 
 Gresley ? " 
 
 " Five thousand ! " 
 
 " And when will they be ready ? " 
 
 " The printer promises 3,000 to-morrow ; 
 and our friends over the way have engaged 
 to cash them the moment they're signed." 
 
 " Then telegraph at once to Middleton to 
 buy the Chathams." 
 
 " I'll see to that, and take the message to 
 the office myself." 
 
 " And how about Middleton's receipt, with 
 that addition of yours, Grresley?" 
 
 " I put it in the fire the day Selby left for 
 London. It had served its end, and there 
 was nothing to gain by keeping it." 
 
 " Certainly not ; you showed a wise discre- 
 tion in putting it out of the way." 
 
 So for once fortune had favoured George 
 Selby; he recovered the whole of his 
 securities, though bow it was brought about 
 he never rightly understood, for he had 
 
206 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 thought it best to ask no questions of any 
 one, though the following letter from Howell, 
 which he found awaiting his return from 
 London, still left much to be explained iu the 
 matter. 
 
 "Dear Sir, — 
 
 '' Having been advised by our cor- 
 respondents at St. Hubert, Messrs. Craig and 
 Gresley, that the undernoted Dutch bonds, 
 which they forwarded to us some months 
 since, belong to you, as likewise the under- 
 mentioned certificates of preferential stock 
 in the Chatham and Dover Railway, received 
 this morning from their London broker, we 
 request to be favoured, at your earliest con- 
 venience, with your instructions in regard to 
 their disposal. 
 
 " We remain, 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 " Howell and Co." 
 
 Though relieved from all anxiety about his 
 funded property, Mr. Selby could see no way 
 out of the difficulty in respect to Eoseneath, 
 
MR. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 207 
 
 and accordingly, at the expiration of the seven 
 days of grace allowed him by the Sheriff, he 
 had found himself obliged to comply with the 
 latter's terms, and sign an agreement to pay 
 him a rental of £100 for the privilege of 
 residing in his own house daring the ensuing 
 year. 
 
 This matter concluded, he had gone to his 
 lawyer, Jules, to hear what explanation he had 
 to offer for having brought all this trouble 
 upon him, to ascertain what steps would be 
 necessary to take in order to regain legal 
 possession of his property, and whether Mr. 
 Jules would be disposed to take up the case 
 gratuitously, as he thought he ought to do, 
 charging him only such sums as might be 
 actually expended during the progress of the 
 suit. 
 
 The lawyer was not the least surprised to 
 see Mr. Selby walk into his ofl&ce ; in fact, 
 he had been expecting a visit from him all the 
 week, and had already prepared in his own 
 mind the line of defence he should adopt in 
 -answer to his client's expected complaint that 
 
208 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 his present trouble was due to tlie evil 
 counsel he had given him. 
 
 In the exuberance of his self-conceit he 
 chuckled immensely at his own shrewdness 
 in having forecast, as he had done, with too 
 fatal accuracy, the very contingency that had 
 arisen. Brief as had been his acquaintance 
 with Mr. Mackillop, the lawyer, with a faculty 
 of observation for which he was remarkable, 
 had noted perhaps, that though some twenty 
 years Mr. Selby's junior, Mr. Mackillop's 
 physique was not such as to promise a long 
 life ; his florid countenance, short bull-neck 
 and full habit pointed him out as a person 
 very likely to die of apoplexy, and the result 
 had proved the correctness of Mr. Jules' 
 judgment. 
 
 " I have heard of your misfortune, and 
 sympathise deeply with you, my dear sir," 
 began the lawyer, who was the first to speak, 
 " It has taken every one by surprise, and no 
 one more than myself; but it only shows,'* 
 he continued, with a sanctimonious air, " how 
 uncertain all human affairs are, and how 
 
MR. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 209 
 
 unsafe it is to build on anything in this 
 life." 
 
 ''Holding such views, it is the more sur- 
 prising then that you should have advised me 
 to make the transfer, Mr. Jules," observed 
 Mr. Selby very quietly. 
 
 " Pardon me, the transfer, humanly speak- 
 ing, was a perfectly safe one, and our 
 inability to control the course of events, is 
 assuredly no reason why we should abstain 
 from transactions in which our worldly 
 interests are concerned ; were it so the whole 
 business of life would be at a stand." 
 
 '' Doubtless ! but it is a reason, and a 
 very cogent one too, Mr. Jales, why, before 
 engaging in any undertaking, wo should 
 carefully consider the contingencies that 
 might arise to mar its success : and this yon 
 neglected to do on the present occasion." 
 
 " In what way ? " asked the lawyer. 
 
 '' By omitting to point out, as was your 
 bounden duty to do, the consequences that 
 would ensue were Mr. Mackillop to die- 
 before me, as has unfortunately happened." 
 
 VOL. I. P 
 
210 THE EAIS'KERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " It was no part of my duty," returned 
 the lawyer, " to travel beyond the question 
 immediately before me. I was asked whether 
 Roseneath could be secured to Miss Selby, 
 through a transfer to her guardian, Mr. 
 Charles Mackillop ; I told you it could, but, 
 as I before remarked, we can't control events, 
 and though your late friend, humanly speak- 
 ing, promised to outlive yon by many years, 
 it has unfortunately happened otherwise ; I 
 fail, however, to perceive how you can justly 
 blame me for not foreseeing that event, or 
 that I can be held accountable for the in- 
 convenience and expense to which you must 
 necessarily be put in your endeavour to 
 regain possession of your property." 
 
 " I am sorry to differ from you, Mr. Jules ; 
 but I must adhere to the opinion I have 
 expressed. You failed in your duty as my 
 legal adviser by omitting to state the risks to 
 which I should be exposed in transferring the 
 property to Mr. Mackillop. I had your dis- 
 tinct assurance, as you will remember, that 
 the transfer would involve no risk whatever J^ 
 
MR. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 211 
 
 " You had mj assurance, I allow, but it 
 referred only to the case as between yourself 
 and jour friend, and it was based on my 
 own belief that, so far as it rested with him, 
 he would duly carry out your wishes, but it 
 did not include unforeseen and improbable 
 contingencies of the nature of the one that 
 has arisen." 
 
 *' I certainly did not understand your 
 assurance in that limited sense," rejoined 
 Mr. Selby, for the first time thinking it 
 possible the case against the lawyer might 
 not be quite so bad as he had at first supposed 
 it to be. 
 
 " I am sorry there should have been any 
 misunderstanding between us," said the 
 lawyer, " but as it is my practice to keep 
 strictly to the question on which I am asked 
 for an opinion, I refrained from entering on 
 any needless or irrelevant matter in connec- 
 tion with the transfer." 
 
 " I don't know what you might consider 
 needless and irrelevant matter, Mr. Jules ; but 
 it strikes me that the fact, as I am advised 
 
212 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 that mj late friend possessed no legal power 
 to will away Roseneatli to my daughter, or 
 any one else, is not altogether irrelevant to 
 the subject on which I came to you for 
 advice." 
 
 *' Certainly not, my dear sir," returned the 
 lawyer, who saw the futility of contesting a 
 point so self-evident, " and I should probably 
 have drawn your attention myself to the fact 
 you mention, had you not already taken the 
 case out of my hands by drawing up yourself 
 a declaration, to be signed by the transferee, 
 showing the real nature and object of the 
 transfer. That document, I may say, with- 
 out flattery, would do credit to a professional 
 lawyer, and rendered it unnecessary for me 
 to go further into the matter, as it seemed to 
 imply a resolve on your part to conclude the 
 transaction in spite of the difficulty you have 
 just mentioned." 
 
 " But though I drew up that paper," said 
 Mr. Selby, " I would remind you that I sub- 
 mitted it for your opinion before handing it 
 to my friend to sign, and that you expressed 
 
ME. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 213 
 
 your unqualified approval of it, in attestation 
 of whicli it bears your signature in full ^ 
 
 " But as a witness only to Mackillop^ s 
 signature, nothing more, Mr. Selby." 
 
 " Pardon me, Mr. Jules, I can show on 
 evidence that is indisputable that you were 
 cognizant of the contents of the document." 
 
 '' Indeed ! I should like to learn the 
 evidence on which that assertion rests." 
 
 "Then here it is, Mr. Jules; " and Mr. 
 Selby drew forth the lawyer's last account 
 and read out the following extract : — 
 
 " To consultations regarding the agree^ 
 ment to be signed by the transferee, Charles 
 Mackillop— £2 2s. Od." 
 
 For a moment the lawyer was at a loss 
 what to say, but quickly recovering his self- 
 possession, he replied — 
 
 " The account, to a certain extent, corrobo- 
 rates your assertion, I admit, but it is not 
 sufficient evidence that I signed the declara- 
 tion with a knowledge of its contents. The 
 fact is, however, Mr. Selby, we have both, 
 been to blame — you, by trenching on my 
 
214 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 prerogative in drawing the agreement, I in 
 not departing, for once, from my usual 
 practice, and giving more consideration to 
 the legal difficulties by which the case was 
 beset. I shall be happy to do all in my 
 power to repair the mischief that has been 
 done, if you will leave the matter in my 
 hands, and at as little expense to yourself as 
 possible ; and as I have recently qualified for 
 the bar, as you are probably aware, I shall be 
 competent to take the entire management of 
 the proceedings, and so save you the cost of 
 an advocates fees. Are you willing to accept 
 my offer ? ' ' 
 
 " Quite so, Mr. Jules ; in fact, feeling that 
 you were in some degree responsible for what 
 has happened — a fact you have had the 
 candour to admit, I felt sure you would deem 
 it a point of honour to give me your services 
 gratuitously, and I am pleased to find I have 
 not misjudged you." 
 
 " Be assured I will keep the expenses at 
 as low a figure as possible," was the lawyer's 
 guarded reply. 
 
MR. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 215 
 
 He had not fcbe sli^rbtesfc intention, "how- 
 ever, of giving his services free. On the 
 contrary, he looked to reap a fresh harvest out 
 of the complication which his own culpable 
 neglect and his client's ignorance had served 
 to bring about. In order to do this it was 
 essential that he and no one else should be 
 entrusted with the conduct of the case, and 
 he knew full well that it was solely on the 
 understanding that his professional services 
 would not be charged for, that Mr. Selby was 
 willing again to employ him. 
 
 There were other considerations too that 
 made him anxious to have the direction of 
 the proceedings ; among them the fear of 
 public exposure, and the consequent injury it 
 would do to his professional prospects. Im- 
 pervious as he was to all sense of moral 
 responsibility, he was fully alive to the fact 
 that the case presented features which would 
 neither add to his legal reputation, nor support 
 his claim to the character of an honest man.. 
 Therefore at the sacrifice of his fees it would 
 be to his interest to take up the business; 
 
216 THE BAKKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 rather than suffer it to fall into other 
 hands. 
 
 Thus reasoning, he had answered his 
 client's remarks about his services in a waj 
 which, whilst it did not commit him directly 
 to forego all personal remuneration, was cal- 
 culated to mislead the former bj inspiriug 
 him with the belief that those services would 
 be given /r^e. 
 
 " And what will be the course to pursue ? " 
 asked Mr. Selbj. 
 
 " That must altogether depend on circum- 
 stances," replied the lawyer. " I presume 
 you are acquainted with the other members 
 of Mr. Mackillop's family, and can tell me 
 who are the next-of-kin ? " 
 
 "His nearest relatives are his brother, 
 Colonel Mackillop, and a married sister." 
 
 "Did you see the Colonel during your 
 recent visit to London, Mr. Selby ? " 
 
 '* I did more than once." 
 
 " You explained to him, I presume, how 
 you were situated in regard to Roseneath ? '* 
 
 " I did so, and he at once renounced all 
 
ME. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 217 
 
 -claim on the property, and said he sliould be 
 ready to surrender it, whenever called, upon 
 to do so ; but that he could not engage to 
 visit St. Hubert, or in any way mix himself 
 up with the law courts of that island, the laws 
 of the place being, he understood, so con- 
 fused and contradictory, as to be unin- 
 telligible even to the lawyers themselves. ^^ 
 
 " I am sorry for this, Mr. Selby, as it 
 must necessarily add. to the expense of the 
 proceedings," said, the lawyer musingly. 
 
 " It is unfortunate I allow, Mr. Jules, but 
 there's no help for it, as the Colonel seemed 
 quite decided not to come over." 
 
 " I should have tliouo^lit he would have 
 •acted in a more friendly manner, and have 
 done all in his power to help you, consider- 
 ing your intimacy with his brother," remarked 
 Mr. Jules, with a peculiar emphasis. 
 
 " Well, to tell the truth, I did feel some 
 disappointment at the little interest he seemed 
 to take in the matter, and I think I must 
 have shown it by my manner," said Mr. 
 Selby. 
 
218 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " I believe there was no consideration paid 
 by jour late friend," pursued Mr. Jules, as 
 he took up the transfer deed and ran his eye 
 over it. 
 
 " Nothing was paid or was intended to be 
 paid," returned the other. 
 
 ''But if the administrator to the estate 
 sees fit to throw obstacles in the way of your 
 recovering your property, it strikes me," said 
 the lawyer, '' that you would be justified in 
 proceeding against Mm for the full amount 
 named in the con — tract.'^ 
 
 " I could not for a moment entertain such 
 an idea," said Mr. Selby, in a quick impatient 
 tone. '' The conveyance to Mr. Mackillop 
 was a purely nominal one, as you know, and 
 was accepted by him solely in order to meet 
 my own and my daughter's convenience, and 
 no circumstances that I can conceive would 
 justify me in saddling his estate with a pro- 
 perty he never had the slightest intention of 
 acquiring." 
 
 " But you can't afford to lose the property, 
 Mr. Selby ! and you would certainly run 
 
MR. SELBY CALLS ON MR. JULES. 219" 
 
 some risk of that sliould Colonel Mackillop 
 refuse to conform to the only course of pro- 
 cedure by which he could be enabled to re- 
 transfer the property to you. Besides, by 
 proceeding against the estate for the payment 
 of the purchase money, you would be adopt- 
 ing the surest means for inducing the Colonel 
 to give you all the assistance in his power 
 towards establishing your right to the 
 house." 
 
 All the lawyer s arguments, however, failed 
 to induce his client to assent to a line of 
 action which his conscience told him was 
 most dishonourable, so the case was left to 
 be dealt with according to the ordinary pro- 
 cesses applicable to it. 
 
 We have no intention of giving a disquisi- 
 tion on the island laws, or commenting on 
 the numerous ridiculous technicalities by 
 which they are beset, to the frequent mis- 
 carriage of justice and truth. The task 
 would be a profitless one to the writer as well 
 as the reader. It will suffice to say that after 
 several months of protracted litigation, in the 
 
220 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 course of whicli Mr. Advocate Jules afforded 
 considerable amusement to the bench by his 
 repeated allusions to the nominal character 
 of the con — tract, the judges unanimously 
 declared Mr. Selby to be the rightful owner 
 of Eoseneath, and under their hand and seal 
 directed his reinstatement in the property. 
 
CHAPTEH XIII. 
 
 LA.WYEE JEFFREYS VISITS FARMER LE BROOQ. 
 
 We now return to Lawyer Jeffreys. 
 
 The result of that gentleman's inquiries 
 in Paris and Havre relative to the embezzle- 
 ment of the late Mrs. Le Bas's railway stock 
 had been eminently satisfactory. The chain 
 of evidence ao^ainst Mr. Craio^, if not asrainst 
 the bank itself, was now complete, and the 
 twofold charge of breach of trust and 
 malversation could therefore be proceeded 
 with so soon as Louis Le Bas should be set 
 at liberty, a matter not likely to be long 
 delayed. The case, however, was one of so 
 novel a description, and the suspected parties 
 occupied such a high social position in the 
 place, that, practised lawyer as he was, Mr. 
 Jeffreys had felt reluctant to bring forward 
 charges of so grave a nature solely on his 
 own responsibility. He had, therefore, 
 deemed it prudent to take the opinion of 
 
222 THE EANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 the Attorney-Greneral in the matter before 
 proceeding further. 
 
 " The case is certainly a very peculiar one, 
 Mr. Jeffreys," remarked the former, after 
 the lawyer had related to him the sad history 
 of the widow and her son ; *' but I do not 
 think you would be justified in demanding 
 Le Bas's discharge without first communi- 
 cating with the parties at whose instance he 
 was placed in the French asylum, and at 
 whose cost he is still maintained there. 
 Should they refuse, however, to remove him 
 after the production of a certificate from the 
 medical officer of the establishment testifying 
 to his sanity, in such case I conceive it 
 would be the duty of the authorities here to 
 interfere in order to procure the young man's 
 discharge. I presume you have already 
 ascertained," he continued, '' at whose re- 
 quest the patient was admitted into the 
 institution, and by whom the expenses are 
 defrayed." 
 
 " I have. The * application ' was made by 
 Mr. Matthew Craig, who also pays the fees.'* 
 
LAWTEE JEFFEEYS VISITS FAEMEE LE BROOQ. 223 
 
 " From whom did jou get this informa- 
 tion ? " 
 
 " From M. le Directeur himself." 
 
 " Did you see the medical certificate, which 
 in every instance, I believe, must accom- 
 pany an application for the admission of a 
 patient ?" 
 
 " I did, and I observed it was signed not 
 by one of the residtnt medical men, but by 
 a stranger, a Mr. Griffiths, who gave his 
 address, notwithstanding, Deliemont, St. 
 Hubert." 
 
 " A most irregular proceeding ! " observed 
 the Attorney-General. " The certificate 
 should have come from the medical officer 
 of Ste. Marie, or from some one, at least, who 
 had some previous knowledge of the case, 
 I think you said it was Daniel Le Brocq, of 
 Montrouge, who took the young man over 
 to France ? " 
 
 " I did." 
 
 " Have you any reason to suspect that he 
 saw Le Bas at Fallot's after he had escaped 
 from Haute ville ? " 
 
224 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 " None whatever." 
 
 " But how was it that neither Le Brocq 
 nor Craig thought of inquiring at Hauteville 
 whether the young man had returned there 
 after his mysterious disappearance from 
 Fallot's cottage ? " 
 
 " This they can best explain themselves," 
 returned the lawyer, " for one would 
 naturally have supposed their first inquiry 
 for the missing man would have been at the 
 place from which he had escaped." 
 
 " I think you had better see both Le 
 Brocq and Craig before taking any further 
 steps, Jeffreys, and ascertain whether they 
 are willing to remove Le Bas on the medical 
 officer certifying him to be of sound mind. 
 And you must be guided as to your future 
 action by the answer they may give you. 
 I would suggest your seeing Le Brocq first, 
 because I know him to be a straightforward, 
 fair-dealing man, and I think you would get 
 the truth from him when you might not from 
 the other." 
 
 " Yery likely. I'll see Le Brocq first." 
 
LAWYER JEFFREYS VISITS FARMER LE BROCQ. 225 
 
 " But not a word, Jeffreys, to either about 
 the railway affair ! That must be kept quite 
 quiet for the present." 
 
 What the reader has already seen of 
 Daniel Le Brocq will probably not have 
 given him a very exalted idea of that in- 
 dividual's shrewdness and power of observa- 
 tion. He was, in truth, no more than he 
 claimed to be, and what the world allowed 
 he was, a simple-minded, honest-hearted man, 
 who was never known to have injured any 
 one, or done a mean or unworthy act. On 
 hearing of Le Bas' unexpected visit to the 
 island, and his subsequent disappearance 
 from Fallot's farm, he had been most active 
 in prosecuting a search for the missing man, 
 and when every endeavour to trace him had 
 failed he had suggested to Mr. Craig that 
 some inquiry ought to be made at Hauteville, 
 if not with the hope of finding him there, at 
 least for the purpose of ascertaining the pre- 
 cise circumstances under which he had 
 escaped from thence. 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
226 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " I have already anticipated your wish on 
 that point, Daniel,'' said Mr. Craig, " having 
 sent a trustworthy person some days ago to 
 Haute ville, who returned bringing me word, 
 as I expected, that nothing had been heard 
 of the fugitive since the day of his flight, so 
 there can be little doubt he has lost his life 
 in the manner generally supposed, by falling 
 over the cliff in one of those moonlight 
 rambles he used to be so fond of when a 
 boy." 
 
 Not doubting for a moment the truth of 
 the above statement, Le Brocq had been led 
 to adopt the prevalent belief, and as time 
 went on every one who felt any interest in 
 the matter ceased to speculate about it, and 
 the affair apparently was forgotten. 
 
 It was about six months after Le Bas' 
 disappearance from his kinsman's cottage 
 that Mr. Le Brocq was told one morning 
 that Lawyer Jeffreys had called, and wished 
 to see him on business. It was not often 
 that Farmer Le Brocq was troubled with 
 lawyers' visits, for he was regular in his 
 
LAWYER JEFFEEYS VISITS FARMER LE BROCQ. 227 
 
 payments, and had been so all his life, and he 
 
 had an instinctive dread of lawyers and law 
 
 <;ourts, both of which he considered every 
 
 honest man ought to be able to do without, 
 
 " Lawyer Jeffreys ! " he exclaimed, in a 
 •tone of nervous surprise, in answer to the 
 servant girl's announcement of the name and 
 .quality of his visitor. "Are you quite 
 sure ? A-nd did he say what his business 
 was r 
 
 ''No, sir; he only said he'd come on busi- 
 ness, and I've showed him into the parlour." 
 
 " Good-morning to you, Mr. Le Brocq," 
 ^aid the lawyer, rising from his seat and 
 advancing towards the farmer as he entered 
 the room, '' I hope you've had good crops 
 this summer." 
 
 "Pretty fairly, thank you, Mr. Jeffreys. 
 Wheat and barley's done very well, but hay 
 was below the mark ; but things won't always 
 turn out as we like." 
 
 " Certainly not, Mr. Le Brocq. And 
 how does the dairy get on ? I saw some 
 fine-looking heifers in the meadow down 
 
228 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 yonder ! You'll not be for selling them, I 
 suppose." 
 
 *' Well, not unless I get a long price, 
 Mr. Jeffreys. But it ain't about crops and 
 cattle you're come all this way to see me," 
 returned the farmer, for though not re- 
 markable for shrewdness, as we have said 
 before, he was sharp enough to know that 
 these were not the kind of topics on which 
 lawyers were much given to descant. 
 
 " You are quite right, Mr. Le Brocq, I 
 have something else to talk about besides 
 your farming prospects, and I will open the 
 subject by asking whether it was you who 
 about five or six years ago took over that un- 
 fortunate young man, Louis Le Bas, to the 
 Maison d'Alienes at Hauteville ? " 
 
 *' It was, Mr. Jeffreys ; but why do you 
 ask?" 
 
 " Because I have reason to believe there 
 was some informality in the medical certifi- 
 cate under which he was received into that 
 institution. Do you recollect who signed the 
 certificate ? " 
 
LAWYER JEFFREYS VISITS FARMER LE BROCQ. 229 
 
 " Who signed the certificate ? Yes. It was a 
 young friend of Mr. Craig's, named Griffiths, 
 who was staying at Les Tourelles, and was 
 studying at the time for the medical pro- 
 fession.'* 
 
 " But did it not occur to you that a man 
 who was only a medical student could not 
 be competent to grant a certificate of that 
 kind ? " 
 
 " To tell you the truth, Mr. Jeffreys, I 
 never thought twice about it ; Mr. Craig 
 said it was all right, and I thought he must 
 know. But, surely, it can't much matter 
 now who signed the certificate, as Mr. Le 
 Bas is dead." 
 
 '' He is not dead, Mr. Le Brocq ; he is 
 still alive ! " 
 
 " Still alive ! Louis Le Bas still alive ! 
 You can't mean what you say, Mr. Jeffreys ! " 
 exclaimed the farmer, utterly amazed. 
 ^' What evidence have you that he is alive ? " 
 
 " The evidence of my own senses," re- 
 turned the lawyer. " I saw him a week ago 
 in the asylum at Hauteville, where he was 
 
230 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 brought back the day after he disappeared 
 in that strange manner from Beau Rivage." 
 
 *' Impossible ! Mr. Jeffreys. Mr. Craig 
 himself assured me he had sent a messenger 
 to Hauteville shortly after Le Bas was missed 
 to inquire if the young man was there, and 
 that he had brought back word that nothing 
 had been heard of him since the time of his- 
 escape." 
 
 " Did Mr. Craig mention the name of the 
 messenger he dispatched on that mission ? "" 
 asked the lawyer. 
 
 " No, he didn't mention his name ; he 
 only said it was a trustworthy person." 
 
 " Now listen to me, Le Brocq," continued 
 the lawyer, " for I believe I can trust you 
 with what I am about to say. A great 
 wrong has been done to that young man by 
 your kinsman in placing him under restraint 
 in a foreio^n land without sufficient leo^al 
 authority for doing so ; but a still greater- 
 wrong has been done him by some person 
 or persons at present unkown in forcibly 
 carrying him back to Hauteville after 
 
liAWYER JEFFREYS VISITS FARMER LE BROCQ. 231 
 
 lie had made his escape to this island, 
 and from what yoa have just told me 
 there are strong grounds for believing that 
 Mr. Craig must have had a hand in that 
 business." 
 
 A new light had begun to break on the 
 mind of the farmer, and as the lawyer pro- 
 ceeded he became convinced that Mr. Craig, 
 in order to serve some private end of his own, 
 had been the orio^inator of the lawless act 
 by which Le Bas had been decoyed away 
 from the island and again placed in confine- 
 ment in the Hauteville asylum. 
 
 Several trivial circumstances to which 
 hitherto he had attached but little importance, 
 now that they were viewed by the light of 
 the revelations to which he had just listened, 
 served to strengthen him in the above con- 
 clusion. He could now quite understand 
 why Mr. Craig had so strenuously opposed 
 him when, on the occasion of a recent trip to 
 France, he had offered to visit Hauteville 
 and make some inquiries respecting their 
 lost relative — for had he gone there he must 
 
232 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 necessarily have discovered that Le Bas was 
 still an inmate of the luDatic asylum, and 
 that the banker's statement that nothing 
 had been heard of him there since the date 
 of his flight was consequently false. He was 
 now enabled to account for the extreme 
 reluctance Mr. Craig had shown of late to 
 have the subject of Le Bas' mysterious 
 disappearance referred to in his hearing ; 
 and he could now understand his motive for 
 withholding from him, as he had done, the 
 directeur's report giving the details of the 
 young man's escape, and the subsequent 
 correspondence that had passed between 
 them after the patient's return to the estab- 
 lishment. 
 
 The lawyer was not slow to guess the 
 nature of the thoughts that filled the 
 farmer's mind, and he determined to take 
 every advantage of the unfavourable im- 
 pression his statement had produced upon 
 him relative to his kinsman Craiof. The 
 lawyer s object was to effect Le Bas' release 
 through an order from the banker himself 
 
LAWTEE JEFFEEYS VISITS FAEMEE LE BROCQ. 233 
 
 rather ttan throiigli the intervention of the 
 island authorities, and he thought Le Brocq 
 might be very useful in bringing this about. 
 Turning, therefore, to the latter, he said in 
 a careless tone — 
 
 *' I might as well mention, Mr. Le Brocq, 
 that I have talked over this business with 
 the Attorney-General before coming here, 
 the case being rather a novel one, and he 
 thought the best plan would be for you and 
 Mr. Craig to arrange for the young man's 
 discharge yourselves, so as to obviate the 
 necessity for any interference on the part of 
 the civil or criminal courts at this place. 
 You quite understand me, I hope?" 
 
 '' I quite understand you, Mr. Jeffreys, 
 though the affair is not so much mine as Mr. 
 Craig's,'' said the farmer with increasing 
 nervousness. 
 
 " Perhaps not, but you are a relative of Le 
 Bas's as well as Mr. Craig, so you are both 
 answerable ; besides it was you, Le Brocq, 
 who placed the young man in the asylum." 
 
 " That's true, Mr. Jeffreys, but it was Craig 
 
234 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 wlio paid the 'pension^ and received the 
 directeur s reports." 
 
 . " No matter about that, an action would 
 lie against you both should the case come 
 into court ; but, as Mr. Syvret suggests, it 
 would be much better for you to settle the 
 affair yourselves." 
 
 " If the young man is cured as you say he 
 is, Mr. Jeffreys, I don't see what objection 
 Mr. Craig could have to his discharge, and 
 from all I hear he was sane enough when he 
 was at Fallot's, so for my part, I think he 
 ought never to have been taken back to 
 France." 
 
 " Then you will use your influence with 
 Mr. Craig to get him to apply for Le Bas' 
 discharge ? " 
 
 " Certainly I will,'' returned the farmer 
 whose natural horror of law proceedings would 
 alone have induced him to take the course 
 proposed. " But as Mr. Craig has already 
 deceived me, I don't know whether I shall 
 succeed." 
 
LAWYEE JEFFREYS VISITS FARMER LE BROCQ. 235 
 
 " In that case you will tell him the law 
 must take its course," said Mr. Jeffreys. 
 
 We are not in a position to state what 
 passed between the farmer and Mr. Craig at 
 the interview between them that followed the 
 lawyer's visit to Le Brocq, but in less than a 
 week from that time, Louis Le Bas had 
 arrived at Sfc. Hubert, and again become an 
 inmate of Martin Fallot's roof. Martin's 
 means were not great ! he was but a small 
 though a very frugal farmer, with jusfc 
 sufl&cient income to maintain himself and 
 family in moderate comfort ; but though his 
 worldly substance was small, he possessed a 
 large heart, and if from no other motive than 
 pure regard for the memory of the deceased 
 widow, Matilda Le Bas, he would have thought 
 it right to share his last sixpence with her 
 unfortunate son ; independently however of 
 his affection for the mother, he had learnt to 
 love her boy for his amiable disposition and 
 fearless spirit, whilst the regard he enter- 
 tained for him had acquired additional strength- 
 
236 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 from the wrongs of whicli he believed him to 
 be the victim. It was therefore with no 
 ordinary feeling of pleasure that Martin and 
 his family had welcomed their young kins- 
 man back to life, and the hospitalities of their 
 humble roof. When Le Bas detailed the 
 systematic and daring manner in which he 
 had been inveigled away from their cottage, 
 and carried over to the opposite coast, Martin 
 Pallet could scarce refrain from giving vent 
 to his ire, and openly denouncing Matthew 
 Craig as the author of the daring outrage. 
 
 " But how was it Louis," he asked '' when 
 they brought you before the commissary of 
 
 police at X that you didn't protest at 
 
 heing forcibly carried away from your country 
 by men who were utter strangers to you ? '' 
 
 '* I had no opportunity of doing so," he 
 replied " The men told the commissaire their 
 •own story, whatever it was, and I was merely 
 asked if it was true that I had escaped from 
 Hauteville, and as I could not deny that, I 
 was at once delivered over to some gendarmes, 
 •and conveyed back to the asylum. I never 
 
LAWYER JEFFREYS VISITS FARMER LE BROCQ. 237 
 
 however saw anythiDg more of tlie men who 
 brought me across, as they had all disappeared 
 after we left the police office." 
 
 '' Doubtless, in order to make the best of 
 their way back to St. Hubert, with the ebb 
 tide, and to report to their employers the 
 complete success of their expedition," said 
 Fallot ; " but never mind, Louis, we'll be 
 even with them yet, one of these days, 
 Jeffreys will be sure to ferret them out, all 
 three of them, if they're still in the island ; 
 but you must keep a sharp look-out yourself, 
 and give the lawyer immediate notice if you 
 happen to come across any one of the fellows 
 who had a hand in this atrocious business." 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 ME. CRAIG APPLIES FOE LE BAS' DISCEAEGE. 
 
 •On the morning after the day on which Daniel 
 Le Brocq had seen Mr. Craig relative to Le 
 Bas' discharge, the banker had gone to his 
 office at an earlier hour than usual in order 
 to talk that matter over with the manager 
 before the business of the day commenced. 
 The latter had not yet made his appearance 
 ^nd Mr. Craig was alone in the bank parlour. 
 
 His mind was ill at ease, as any one could 
 have perceived had he chanced to see him in 
 his solitude, and watched the play of his 
 features now that there was no one to observe 
 liim, and no need for him to keep his counte- 
 nance under command. 
 
 The expression of his face at that moment 
 was in truth a faithful mirror of his mind, 
 and accurately reflected the thoughts that 
 filled it — what was their nature ? It is hardly 
 necessary to say they had reference to Louis 
 
MR. CEAia APPLIES FOR LE BAS' DISCHARGE. 239 
 
 Le Bas, and the course of action whicli his 
 recent interview with Le Brocq had de- 
 termined him to pursue towards that un- 
 fortunate young man. " It is the best, indeed 
 the onJ J course to be taken, bad as it is ! 
 Yes, I must apply for his discharge ! But what 
 to do with him when he comes ? for he'll never 
 let that railway matter rest as long as he lives, 
 never ! But will he ever make anything of 
 it, even with Jeffreys' help ? — the thing is 
 impossible, utterly impossible ! But still it's 
 awkward his bein^ here ! could he not be put 
 out of the way somehow? Gresley perhaps 
 might suggest some way of getting rid of him 
 — he's so clever, so wonderfully clever ! I 
 wonder what makes him so late ! he ought to 
 have been here an hour ago ! " 
 
 As the banker gave utterance to these and 
 similar thoughts the door gently opened, and 
 the manager entered. 
 
 " I am glad you're come at last," began the 
 banker in a not particularly courteous tone. 
 " I've been here nearly an hour and thought 
 some accident must have befallen you." 
 
240 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 '' I'm sorry you've had to wait Matthew,'^ 
 said Gresley apologetically " but I couldn't 
 come sooner. Hopkins got liold of me in the 
 Square, bothering me about his account, and 
 I couldn't shake him off. But what's in the 
 wind ? no bad news I hope ?" observing from 
 his colleag:ue's manner that something^ had 
 greatly disconcerted him. 
 
 " Bad news it certainly is — nothing more 
 nor less than that the game is up with Le Bas, 
 and that we shall have him back upon us in 
 less than a week." 
 
 *' The deuce we shall ! Why, what has 
 happened ? " he eagerly asked. 
 
 '' Jeffreys has been over to Haute ville, 
 and, as ill-luck would have it, went to the 
 asylum, where he stumbled on Le Bas, who 
 told him how he came to be there, when all the 
 world supposed him to be dead." 
 
 '' From whom did you hear this ? " asked 
 Gresley, now fairly alarmed. 
 
 "From Le Brocq, on whom Jeffreys had 
 called only a few hours before, with a message 
 from Sy vret, to say that if we would apply for 
 
MR. CRAia APPLIES FOR LE BAs' DISCHARGE. 241 
 
 Le Bas' release, the matter should go no 
 further." 
 
 " Well, and what did you say in reply ? " 
 
 '' I said if the medical officer at Hauteville 
 would certify that he was sane — as we know 
 he's been ready to do for the last three months, 
 I should offer no objection, and apply at once 
 for his discharge." 
 
 "I don't see how 3'ou could have done 
 otherwise Matt ; it would never have done to 
 battle it out any longer, particularly as the 
 directeur suo^s^ested his removal long: ao^o." 
 
 " I should not so much mind Le Bas 
 being here if I didn't fear his giving us some 
 trouble about that affair at Eoche's Point," 
 said the banker. 
 
 " There's certainly some risk of that," 
 observed the other " and we must try to 
 provide against it." 
 
 '' By what means ? " 
 
 " Why, by putting out of the way any 
 evidence that might be likely to do us harm." 
 
 " Do you think Le Bas would be able ta 
 
 VOL. I. R 
 
242 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 identify the parties concerned ? " inquired 
 the banker with an air of anxiety. 
 
 " I feel pretty safe as regards myself and 
 Parker, but I'm not so sure about the boatmen, 
 as they were not disguised as we were," 
 renlied the manag^er. 
 
 '' They must be got out of the island then 
 somehow or other before Le Bas' return,'' said 
 
 the banker " and you had better see Bartle- 
 
 t/ 
 
 man as soon as possible, and ask him whether 
 he would mind taking a trip to Newfound- 
 land, for a proper consideration of course." 
 
 " ril try and see what I can do with him," 
 said the other, who was even more disturbed 
 than his colleague by the critical turn affairs 
 had taken. 
 
 "And how about the other matter, Gresley, 
 I mean the run upon the bank the other day ; 
 was there any special cause for that do you 
 suppose? " 
 
 " Not that I am aware of, but there's been 
 an uneasy feeling abroad ever since we got 
 those new issues cashed by our friends over 
 the way." 
 
ME. CRAIG APPLIES FOR LE BAS' DISCHARGE. 243 
 
 *' What was the amount ? do you recollect." 
 
 " Four thousand pounds, to be repaid in 
 three months, one lialf in notes, and the other 
 in gold." 
 
 '' I suppose there will be no difficulty in 
 the matter ? " 
 
 "None in the world, as our mortsfao-e of 
 the quarries will cover the cash, and as to 
 the notes I'll see there's a sufficiency of them.'* 
 
 " Be sure you do," said the banker "or it 
 might be awkward for us." 
 
 " No fear of that, I'll answer for the notes." 
 
 And with this assurance of the manao-er 
 the subject dropped. 
 
 The latter quitted the office and strolled 
 down to the pier in quest of Bartleman whom 
 he was not long in finding, when making him 
 a sign that he wished to speak to him, the 
 boatman left the boat where he was seated 
 smoking with some of his companions and 
 joined G-resley on the pier. 
 
 '' Bartleman ! " he began, in as grave a 
 tone as he could assume, "I've come to warn 
 you that you are in danger of getting into 
 
244 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBEET. 
 
 trouble about that affair at Roclie's Point. 
 Yon know what I mean ! " 
 
 '' Yes, Mr. Gresley, I knows well enougb. 
 It's Dot likely I'd forget a job of tbat kind; 
 but ain't the youngster safe and snug 'tother 
 side of the water?" be asked, witb an evident 
 air of anxiety. 
 
 " He was so till a few days ago," returned 
 tbe otber, " but Jeffreys lias managed to find 
 him out, and threatens to bring the matter 
 into court if we don't apply for his release, 
 so we've been forced to order his discharge, 
 and he'll be here in less than a week." 
 
 " The deuce he will ! " said the boatman, 
 with increasing alarm. " Then this ain't 
 the place for me nor for you neither, Mr. 
 Gresley." 
 
 '' Oh, never mind me, Bartie, I've no fear 
 for myself, as he couldn't have recognised me, 
 but it's very different with you, and Bob 
 Laurence, as neither of you were disguised." 
 
 " Bob's all right anyhow, so you needn't 
 concarn about him." 
 
 " How so ? " 
 
MR. CEAIG APPLIES FOR LE BAs' DISCHARGE. 245 
 
 " He's off to Canada ! He's left the island 
 these two months." 
 
 " So much the better, as we've only got 
 you to think of ; but as it wouldn't be safe 
 for you to remain here after Le Bas' return, 
 the sooner you get away the better. Don't 
 you think so, yourself ? " 
 
 The boatman gave an assented nod. 
 
 " Well, then," continued Gresley, " what 
 say you to a trip to Newfoundland ? One 
 of Lawder's ships sails the day after to- 
 morrow. All expenses paid, of course, and 
 a matter of £20 to boot ! Or if that won't 
 suit, what do you say to taking the situation 
 of Jiight "porter at the ' Home and Foreign.' 
 They want a steady, sober man for the place, 
 and as it isn't yet filled up, I'd ask Mr. Gray 
 to give it to you. It's the office in London 
 in which Mr. Claude Dubois is the secretary, 
 you know," 
 
 " What's the wages ? " asked the boatman. 
 
 '* Forty pounds a year, with coals and 
 candles, and a nice room," replied the other. 
 
 " Well, that ain't so bad to be sure, but 
 
246 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 there's the expenses of getting the family 
 over, and other matters." 
 
 " Oh, we'll see to that," said Greslej, " a 
 matter of ten pounds should cover all ex- 
 penses, and that we'll give you." 
 
 "All right, sir, it's a bargain. I'm your 
 man," returned the boatman. 
 
 " And you must be ready to leave by the 
 mail boat the day after to-morrow — mind that, 
 Bartie ! And if you'll look in at the bank 
 after ten to-morrow you shall have the 
 cash." 
 
 "I'll be sure to be there, sir," said the 
 boatman, as he moved away to rejoin his com- 
 panions in the boat. 
 
 With this matter so quickly and satis- 
 factorily settled, both Mr. Craig and the 
 manager felt much more easy in their minds ; 
 but there were other matters besides that 
 which were beginning to cause them anxiety. 
 
 The Home and Foreign Loan and Discount 
 Corporation was not getting on so pros- 
 perously as had been anticipated. There had 
 been no fresh deposit accounts opened for 
 
ME. CEAIG ArPLIES FOE LE BAS' DISCHAEGE. 247 
 
 some time, whilst the bills the company had 
 discounted were found to be worthless. The 
 last call on the shareholders had been but 
 feebly responded to, and the whole of the 
 paid-up capital had been sunk in various 
 speculative schemes, the majority of which 
 had failed. 
 
 Moreover, the company's bankers had re- 
 fused to make any further advances except 
 on the most itn exceptionable security — and 
 this the society was not prepared to give. 
 
 " And unless vour bank," wrote the ener- 
 getic manager, Mr. Gray to his friend Glresley, 
 '* is in a position to afford us some further 
 accommodation, 1 fear we shall be shortly 
 compelled to close our doors." 
 
 " vVhat is to be done ? " said Mr. Craig, 
 after the manas^er had read the contents of 
 Mr. G-ray's letter. '' We can't give any more 
 help just now, the thing's impossible ! " 
 
 '' I am quite aware of that," returned the 
 manager. *' Besides one would like to know 
 something more of the society's affairs be- 
 fore risking any more money in the concern.'* 
 
243 THE BANKERS OF Sr. HUBERT. 
 
 '' Of course we should. Why couldn't 
 Gray come across and talk matters quietly 
 over witli us. It would be so much better 
 than writing ! " 
 
 "I don't see why he should not," said the 
 other. " I'll write and tell him to come over, 
 and bring with him particulars of any trans- 
 actions in which we are interested." 
 
 Accordingly Gresley wrote to Mr. Gray to 
 say that the bank could not advance any 
 moremoney without knowing something more 
 about the present position, and future pros- 
 pects of the association, and suggesting that 
 as soon as possible he should cross over to 
 St. Hubert to talk matters over with them. 
 
 Although by inviting Mr. Gray to cross 
 the Channel and meet them in a personal in- 
 terview, Messrs. Craig were assuredl}^ holding 
 out hopes of further pecuniary aid to that 
 gentleman, they must have been fully aware 
 of their own inability to render such aid, 
 for from the date of the late run on the bank, 
 its affairs had gone on from bad to worse. 
 Its numerous speculations had all failed, its 
 
MR. CRAIG APPLIES FOR LE BAs' DISCHARGE. 249 
 
 'deposit accounts were climinisliing from day 
 to day, and its credit was rapidly losing 
 ground among all classes of the community. 
 It had, in fact, only beea enabled to continue 
 its business through the help afforded by the 
 other local banks through loans of their 
 notes, advances of bullion and other accom- 
 modation. 
 
 At length, however, when it became known 
 that it was only by the above expedients that 
 ■the bank had been enabled for many months 
 past to maintain its existence, all confidence 
 in its stability was completely destroyed, and 
 a severe and continuous run was made upon 
 it on the part of note-holders and other 
 creditors which, not even in its palmiest days, 
 ■would it have been able to withstand. The 
 <3onsequence was, that on the third day after 
 the run began, a notice appeared in the 
 window of the bank to the effect that it had 
 ^een compelled to suspend its payments, but 
 would resume them in the course of a few 
 days. 
 
 It was at the same time announced that a 
 
250 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 meeting of tlie shareholders would take place 
 on the following Monday. With the downfall 
 of Craig and Gresley, there was an immediate 
 collapse of the Home and Foreign Loan and 
 Discount Corporation — a catastrophe which 
 would appear to have been quite anticipated 
 bv its general manager, who had already dis- 
 appeared from the scene, and though diligent 
 inquiries were made, no trace of liim could 
 be discovered. 
 
 On the concern passing into the hands of 
 the liquidators tlie whole of tlie existing staff 
 bad been discharged, with the exception of 
 the secretary, whose services it had been 
 found necessary to retain — an arrangement 
 which was peculiarly gratifying to Claude, as 
 it enabled him to remain in London and en- 
 deavour to procure another appointment that 
 he hoped would prove of a more permanent 
 nature, and enable him to look forward to 
 that ultimate independence on which all his 
 hopes of happiness in life would depend. 
 
 It was not destined, however, that this 
 important object was to be accomplished by 
 
ME. CRAia APPLIES FOE LE BAS' DISCHARGE. 251 
 
 any such means, but be brougbt about in a 
 manner and from a quarter of which the 
 young man himself had not the remotest 
 suspicion. 
 
 It was at a late hour of the nig^ht on the 
 day on which Craig and Gresley had sus- 
 pended payment, that two men made their 
 way through the now-deserted streets of 
 Deliemont, in the direction leading to the 
 bank. On reaching the steps which led up^ 
 to the bank premises, the younger of the two 
 leaving his companion, hurried up the steps 
 to a side door, and opening it with a key 
 which he carried with him, made a whispered 
 sign to his companion to join him. 
 
 They then entered the building together, 
 carefully closed the entrance door and pro- 
 ceeded to grope their way along a narrow 
 passage, at the end of which stood a second 
 door, which, on being opened, gave access to 
 the bank office. Here the younger of the twO' 
 suddenly paused, and drawing a lucifer box 
 from his breast pocket, commenced to light the- 
 several gas burners in the office, having first 
 
252 THE BANKERS OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 satisfied him self that the window shutters 
 facing the street were securely closed. 
 
 These operations concluded, the men 
 passed into the adjoining room, and having 
 lighted the gas there also, the shutters being 
 previously closed, took their seats at the table 
 that stood in the centre of the room. 
 
 " Well, Philip,'' began the elder of the two, 
 " the game's up at last ! for I suppose we can 
 never go on again ! " 
 
 '' Tlie prospect is not a pleasant one, cer- 
 tainly,'' returned the manager. '' But we 
 must try and place matters in the best light 
 we can. If we could but induce E-emon and 
 one or two others to come forward with a 
 few thousands, we might still weather the 
 storm." 
 
 " Too late ! too late for that ! " said the 
 chairman despondingly. 
 
 " I almost fear it is," said the other, " the 
 only thing we can do is to dress up the books, 
 so that matters shouldn't look quite so bad 
 as they really are." 
 
 " That cursed railway has been the ruin of 
 
MR. CRAIG APPLIES FOR LE BAS' DISCHARGE. 253 
 
 US, Gresley ! What ever could have led us to 
 go in for such a piece of folly ? " pursued the 
 banker, in the same desponding tone. 
 
 " 'No doubt, but it's no use indulging in 
 vain regrets, for what's done can't be un- 
 done," said the manager, somewhat snap- 
 pishly. 
 
 " Very true," returned the other, '' so we'll 
 proceed to business, and see if we can't make 
 the accounts fit in with the annual report, 
 and the ten per cent, dividend that was de- 
 clared. I think we showed a profit of £5,000 
 on the year, did we not ? " 
 
 " It was more than doable that. Why, what 
 on earth has come to your memory, Matt ? " 
 roughly asked the other. 
 
 " I hardly know myself, Phil, I'm not 
 the man I was, I feel that, but I can't help it," 
 he meekly answered. " But we won't talk 
 about that just now ; let us go to work and 
 try to make the books square with the re- 
 port." 
 
 " It would take a long time to do that. 
 Matt/' said the manager, " but we could 
 
254 THE BAXKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 make things look a little pleasanter tlian they 
 do at present, I don't doubt. If we had 
 only the shareholders to deal with it is quite 
 possible matters might be put straight ; but 
 when a bank has gone the length of closing 
 its doors it's surprising what an interest the 
 public begins to take in its concerns, and 
 thousfh we mig^ht be able to g^ull the former 
 it would not be so easy to deceive the latter." 
 
 With these words, and as if by common 
 consent, the conversation ceased, and the two 
 men set themselves to the work before them, 
 that of altering the books and accounts so as 
 to adapt them to the position of the bank as 
 represented in the annual report. The task 
 was not an easy one. At length, after some 
 hours' diligent application, by the simple pro- 
 cess of adding to, curtailing and suppressing 
 the matter and lio-ures contained in the ac- 
 counts, the books were brought into a certain 
 degree of harmony with the directors' annual 
 statement. 
 
 But great as were the manipulative 
 powers of the manager, it was found they 
 
MR. CEAIG APPLIES FOR LE BAS' DISCHARGE. 255 
 
 were not equal to the task of explaining tlie 
 ■disappearance of Mr. Mangles' bonds, so it 
 was wisely decided by the confederates to 
 leave that matter unnoticed. 
 
 But whilst the chairman and o^eneral 
 manaoer were thus eno^-ao^ed in cookino^ the 
 accounts for the benefit of the approaching 
 meeting other clouds had been gathering 
 .around the bank from quarters where they 
 were least expected. 
 
 With the arrival of Le Bas from France, 
 the sole obstacle to the prosecution of the 
 chars^e of embezzlement asfainst Mr. Craio- 
 and the bank in the matter of the railway 
 property of the late Mrs. Le Bas, had been 
 removed, and the Attorney-General only 
 awaited the close of the meeting to issue his 
 warrant for the apprehension of the parties 
 supposed to be concerned in that nefarious 
 transaction. 
 
 Mr. Mangles, who was spending the winter 
 in Florence, having heard some unpleasant 
 rumours about the bank, and alarmed for the 
 safety of his bonds, had hastily quitted that 
 
256 THE EANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 city en route for St. Hubert, and passing 
 through Paris was journeying down to X — 
 by express at the very moment that the little 
 steamer '"' Firefly " was crossing over to that 
 seaport from St. Hubert. Among the 
 passengers on board was Mr. Gresley, who 
 not daring to face the shareholders in general 
 meeting, had suddenly determined, after his 
 midnight visit to the bank, to remove his 
 person and property to France, taking along 
 with him such of the official accounts and 
 other papers as he thought it might be con« 
 venient to retain in his own keephig. 
 
 The down train from Paris to X — had 
 reached A — , and was awaiting the ar- 
 rival of the up train before continuing its 
 journey to the coast, when with the 
 punctuality for which the French trains are 
 proverbial, the latter was observed slowly 
 steaming into the station, to the very minute 
 of her due time. Mr. Mangles was making 
 the most of the dix minutes tT arret, by pacing 
 up and down the platform in order to keep 
 his blood in circulation, for it was winter 
 
MR. CRAIG APPLIES FOR LE BAs' DISCHARGE. 257 
 
 time, and a cold, east wind was blowing 
 across the Bocage right into the station. 
 Whilst thus occupied his eye caught sight of 
 a familiar face that was directino^ its craze to- 
 wards him from the window of a first-class 
 carriage of the up train. Leaving the plat- 
 form and crossing quickly to the opposite 
 side, Mr. Mangles in another minute was at 
 the carriage in which the bank manager — for 
 it was 710 other than he — was seated, and 
 quietly awaiting his approach. 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Mangles ! " he exclaimed, " this 
 is a surprise indeed ! I thought you were in 
 Italy; but I am delighted to see you," grasp- 
 ing him warmly by the hand. 
 
 Mr. Mangles, however, was not desirous to 
 waste time in polite speeches, so with- 
 drawing his hand from the manager's, he said 
 in a quick, sharp tone — 
 
 " There are some ugly rumours about your 
 bank, Mr. Gresley, and I'm on my way to St. 
 Hubert to satisfy myself as to their truth, 
 and to look after those bonds of mine whichj, 
 
 VOL. I. s 
 
258 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 as you may rememberj were to be sent to 
 Howell when I went abroad." 
 
 " Ob, yes, I remember, the Turkish bonds; 
 but you needn't feel uneasy about them, 
 they're all right with the London firm." 
 
 "I'm very giad to hear it, Mr. Gresley. 
 But what about the bauk ? There's nothing 
 wrong with it I hope ! " 
 
 «' Wrong with it I Mr. Mangles, what do 
 you mean ? The bank never was stronger ! 
 You can't surely have seen the last report, 
 or you would never have expressed a doubt 
 on the subject. By the way, I have a copy 
 in my pocket, how fortunate ! " and he drew 
 it forth and gave it to him. 
 
 Mr. Mangles would gladly have pursued 
 his inquiries a little further but was prevented 
 from doing so by the cry of '' Aux voitures 
 messieurs^^ which obliged him to hurry to the 
 other platform. The perusal of the chair- 
 man's report, in which he was soon immersed, 
 afforded him considerable comfort, and re- 
 moved all doubt from his mind as to the 
 stability of the bank, and the danger to 
 
ME. CRAIG APPLIES FOR LE BAS' DISCHARGE. 259 
 
 which his bonds were exposed through its 
 reported failure. 
 
 On reaching X — , however, his suspicions 
 were again excifced on finding a rumour 
 current there of the stoppage of one of the 
 principal commercial firms at St. Hubert, and 
 a few hours later his worst fears were 
 realized by learning that Craig and Gresley 
 had broke, that the chairman was under 
 arrest on a charge of felony, and that the 
 manager, for whose apprehension a warrant 
 was also out, had absconded, carrying along 
 with him, it was believed, many valuable 
 securities and other property belonging to 
 the shareholders and depositors of the bank. 
 
CHAPTER XY. 
 
 MR. CEAIG TS AEEESTED. 
 
 Mr, Craig had for so many years, especially 
 since the time of bis accident, been so com- 
 pletely dependent upon the general manager 
 for information and advice about the affairs 
 of the bank, that though at their recent mid- 
 nio^ht meeting^ it had been decided to meet 
 the shareholders with a positive assurance of 
 its solvency, and appealing to the accounts 
 in support of their assertion, yet when on 
 the following: morning^ the chairman could 
 learn no tidings of his colleague, and ugly 
 rumours were bruited about that he had ab- 
 sconded, he at once saw the futility of his 
 making such an attempt alone. Such a course 
 of action might have had a chance of succeed- 
 ing in the hands of Gresley, who was not 
 only thoroughly conversant with the business 
 in all departments, but was possessed of the 
 requisite audacity to publicly state that 
 
MR. CRAIG IS ARRESTED. 261 
 
 which he knew to be utterly false. The 
 chairman therefore in addressing the meeting 
 simply expressed it as his individual opinion 
 that an examination of the bank's books 
 would clearly establish the fact of its solvency^ 
 and proposed that a committee of shareholders 
 be appointed to undertake that duty, and re- 
 port with the least possible delay on the state 
 of the bank's affairs. 
 
 No one felt disposed to dispute the reason- 
 ableness of this proposal, and it was agreed 
 to without a dissentient voice ; and though 
 some awkward questions were asked regard- 
 ing some recent issues of the bank's notes, 
 and other matters, it was deemed advisable 
 not to enter on these or any other questions 
 pending the publication of the report. 
 
 The meeting had passed off more quietly 
 than was expected, but the unexplained 
 absence of the general manager had created 
 an uneasy feeling in the minds of those who 
 were present, and this feeling was consider- 
 ably increased towards the close of the day 
 by the startling announcement that the chair- 
 
262 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 man, Mr. Craig, had been arrested on a charge 
 of felony, and lodged in the criminal gaol. 
 
 This was an actual fact. 
 
 Mr. Craig had been arrested an hour or 
 two after the meeting under a warrant of the 
 Attorney- General. 
 
 He had gone from the meeting to his own 
 house, and had closed himself in his study, 
 giving strict orders that he might not be dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 Let us see how he bears himself in the 
 critical position in which he now stands 
 through the downfall of the bank, and the 
 flight of his colleague. He has a troubled, 
 anxious look as he hurriedly paces up and 
 down the room, ever and anon giving utter- 
 ance to the disquieting thoughts that fill his 
 mind. " To think of Gresley," he began, 
 " playing me such a scurvy trick as to ab- 
 scond and leave me to bear the whole brunt 
 of the battle ! But he's gone, and can snap 
 his fingers at them all unless they set the 
 wires at work, and catch hold of him at 
 Paris! But they won't do that! They'll 
 
ME. CRATG IS ARRESTED. 263 
 
 let him go ! They mean to fly at higher game 
 than that, and are not Hkely to meddle with 
 the shell when they can have the oyster ! 
 But I may baffle them still ! What could be 
 easier than to slip away from Roche's Point 
 in Bartleman's boat ! But I'd forgot, Bartle- 
 man's away ; no matter, any other boat would 
 do; Parker could arrange it all, and nobody 
 be a bit the wiser ! " And the banker paused 
 for several minutes as he revolved the project 
 in his mind. 
 
 " What ! " at length he exclaimed, *' sneak 
 away from the place like an arrant cur, with- 
 out making^ the slisrhtest effort to with- 
 stand the storm ! What I ! Matthew Craig, 
 a judge, a senator of the people, debase my- 
 self by such an act of cowardice ! Never [ 
 never ! " And all the innate courag^e of the 
 man came back to him as he decided to 
 await the impending conflict. 
 
 The air of sullen dejection and irresolution 
 so visible on bis countenance when he first 
 reached home, had now changed to an ex- 
 pression of fixed and confident resolve. 
 
264 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " If matters come to tlie worst," he went 
 on, '' and they should charge me with em- 
 bezzlement and breach of trust in the matter 
 of Mangles' bonds, would they ever get a 
 jury to conYiGt when four-Jifths must he agreed 
 to ensure a verdict of guilt?/ F Was there 
 ever an instance of any one in my position 
 being convicted of charges such as these ? 
 There never was, and never will be. The 
 very nature of our island constitution forbids 
 it ! Was not Le Tellier, though he had been 
 . living for years upon the public funds, 
 triumphantly acquitted when charged with 
 malversation ? Need I then have any mis- 
 givings ? None whatever ! To think other- 
 wise would be folly and a weakness ! " And 
 the banker laughed a short sardonic laugh in 
 the fulness of his newly awakened con- 
 fidence. 
 
 Whilst thus soliloquising, and foreshadow- 
 in2: the issue of the contest in which he must 
 soon be called upon to engage, a quick, 
 sharp rap at the door aroused him from his 
 meditations. 
 
MK. CRAIG IS ARRESTED. 265 
 
 '' Who's tliere ? " he exclaimed in an angry 
 tone. " Did I not say I was not to be dis- 
 turbed ? " 
 
 ''Please, sir," said the servant-maid, not 
 heeding the rebuke, " Mr. Dallain, the 
 constable, is here, and wishes to see you. He's 
 outside, sir ; he said he'd rather not come in." 
 
 A slight flush passed across the bauker's 
 face as be replied — 
 
 '' Very well, say I'll come to him." 
 
 The study door closed, and he was once 
 more alone. 
 
 " The storm has broken sooner than I had 
 anticipated ! " he exclaimed, in a husky, hiss- 
 ing voice, *'but I'm ready to face it," and 
 hastily swallowing a tumbler of claret which 
 stood beside him, he passed through the 
 study window into the carriage drive, where 
 stood the constable and another man 
 evidently awaiting his arrival. 
 
 " It's an unpleasant affair, Mr. Craig," 
 began the constable, showing his warrant; 
 ^' but I've no choice in the matter, and must 
 do my duty." 
 
266 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " Of course, of course, Mr. Dallain, youVe- 
 only to obey orders. I have no fault to find 
 with you ; the warrant, I presume, is in proper 
 form ? '' 
 
 " Here it is, sir," handing him the warrant. 
 
 " It's quite in order, Mr. Dallain," said the 
 banker, as he ran his eye over it, '' and I 
 must, therefore, consider myself your pri- 
 soner, I suppose." 
 
 " For the present," returned the officer, 
 " you must, but you can see any of your 
 family in the presence of myself or the 
 centenier, should you wish to do so before 
 your removal to town." 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Dallain, I have no wish 
 to see any one ; but stay, if you will allow 
 me, I should like to leave a note for Mr. 
 Jules, and you can return with me to my 
 study whilst I write it." 
 
 This done, and the banker, having 
 intimated his readiness to start, he was con- 
 ducted by the two officers to the entrance 
 gate of Les Tourelles,' where a cab was 
 waiting, and was driven straight to the 
 
MR. CRAia IS ARRESTED. 267 
 
 gaol, wliere for the present we will leave 
 him. 
 
 When we said, as we did, in reference to 
 the "unexpected recovery of his railway stock 
 by Mr. Selby, that he never rightly under- 
 stood how that had been brought about, we 
 did not mean to imply that he had formed no 
 opinion. He had an opinion on the subject, 
 and a very correct one too, that he owed the 
 restitution of his property to a belief on the 
 part of his bankers that their late fraudulent 
 sale of his securities had been discovered by 
 their constituent, and would probably be 
 followed up by an immediate criminal pro- 
 secution, the only chance of averting 
 which would be by their replacing the 
 securities immediately, and this we know 
 they had lost no time in doing. It will be 
 readily understood why Mr. Selby, who had 
 recovered all he had lost, should no longer 
 feel any desire to prosecute his late bankers^ 
 but it is nofc so easy to understand, after the 
 base and dishonourable treatment he had 
 received at their hands, why he should have 
 
268 THR BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 cared to keep up tlie smallest acquaintance 
 with Mr. Craig or any member of his house- 
 hold. It was not to be expected that the 
 social relations between the two families 
 could ever ag^ain be of that cordial character 
 they once were, still there were reasons why 
 Mr. Selby did not wish that the acquaintance 
 should entirely cease. To explain those 
 reasons, however, we must go back to the 
 time of Mr. Selby's hurried visit to London. 
 
 He had said nothing^ to his dauo^hter 
 respecting the cause that obliged him to take 
 that journej^; at least nothing beyond what 
 was conveyed in the vague and unexplicit 
 phrase of '• Only a small matter of business, 
 my dear." 
 
 Kato, however, had for years been accus- 
 tomed to note each varying shade and turn of 
 her father's countenance, and was not to be 
 deceived by the calm and careless way in 
 which he had volunteered the above informa- 
 tion, and she had quickly perceived that under 
 that assumed air of composure there was 
 some hidden grief pressing heavily upon him ; 
 
MR. CEAIG IS AERESTED. 269 
 
 and knowing, as she did, how anxious he had 
 been for some time past about the securities 
 he had lodged at Messrs. Craig's, she had 
 connected his present journey with some 
 supposed misfortune that had befallen those 
 securities, and she had noted her father's 
 excitement when the teleo^ram callino^ him to 
 London had arrived. 
 
 It was an anxious time, therefore, for 
 Kate Selby during the six or seven days that 
 her father was away ; and the more so that 
 he had not written to her till just on the eve 
 of his return. Perhaps he had better not 
 have written at all, as the boat that brought 
 the letter brought the writer too ! so that the 
 first meetino^ of the father and dausfhter was 
 at the threshold of their own dwelling, 
 instead of on the pier at Deliemont, where 
 Kate had hoped to go and be the first to 
 welcome him back. 
 
 " Are there any letters for me, my dear," 
 was Mr. Selby' s first question, after ex- 
 changing an affectionate greeting with his 
 daughter. 
 
270 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 " Oh, yes, papa, several ; they're in the 
 library. I'll run and fetch them," and off 
 she went, and returned with a handle of 
 letters, which she delivered to her father. 
 " But, dear papa^ do take some breakfast 
 before you read them," she added, as she 
 saw how tired and wan he looked. 
 
 " No, thank you, my dear," he said, " I 
 don't want anything ; I had some breakfast 
 on board," and he seated himself in an easy 
 chair, and began to read his letters. 
 
 " Then I will leave you, papa, for a few 
 minutes," and she was moving towards the 
 door when she suddenly stopped on hearing 
 him exclaim — 
 
 " Gracious Heaven ! it cannot be ! it's too 
 good to be true ! " 
 
 The news that had called forth her father's 
 exclamation of surprise was the announce- 
 ment conveyed in Messrs. Howell's letter 
 that Ms railway stoclc loas safe in their hands, 
 
 " Then we are not ruined ! we are not 
 ruined, my child, as I thought we were ! " he 
 went on, as the conviction gradually broke 
 
ME. CRAIG IS ARRESTED. 271 
 
 upon Mm, that in order to save themselves 
 from tbe consequences of a criminal indict- 
 ment, his bankers had found it expedient to 
 replace the embezzled shares ; " then we are 
 not ruined ! Oh, mj darling, after this 
 signal mercy let us never despair, nor for a 
 moment distrust the goodness of God, but 
 when trials and troubles come upon us let us 
 lift up the eye of confiding faith to Him 
 whose promises never fail, and say, ' Lord, I 
 am oppressed^ undertake Thou for me.'' '' 
 
 Mr. Selby then told his daughter of the 
 deception that had been practised upon him 
 by the bank manager relative to the receipt 
 which had been shown him as Messrs. 
 Howell's acknowledgment of his railway 
 stock; how his suspicions had been excited as 
 to the genuineness of that document ; how 
 those suspicions had been strengthened at his 
 interview with Mr. Jeffreys, and how, on 
 receipt of Claude Dubois' telegram, he had 
 hurried to London, only to find his worst 
 fears confirmed, and half his fortune gone. 
 
 " But in what terms shall I speak of 
 
272 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Claude ? " he continued, " how adequately 
 express my admiration of his noble conduct 
 in not scrupling to expose and denounce his 
 guardian's unprincipled behaviour, rather 
 than suffer it to bring ruin on those whose 
 only claim upon him was an acquaintance of 
 a few brief months. Claude Dubois may not 
 be able to boast a patrician descent, Kate, 
 but he can claim what is far better — the 
 nobility that is derived from the practice of 
 virtue.'' 
 
 The heightened colour, the brightening 
 eye, and the look of gratified interest with 
 which his dausfhter had listened to Mr, 
 Selby's eulogium of her lover, had told the 
 former far better than any words of hers 
 could do, how dear to her was thafc young 
 man ; and when he ended by saying he would 
 consent to their marriage, should Claude ever 
 be in a position to claim her for his wife, she 
 could no lono^er control her feelinixs, she hid 
 her blushing face on his bosom, and un- 
 restrainedly gave way to her tears of joy. 
 
 " And now tell me, darling," he said, after 
 
ME. CRAIG IS ARRESTED. 273 
 
 a pause of some minutes, " how is our dear 
 invalid ? " 
 
 He spoke of Mrs. Craig, whose failing 
 health and strength, from the inroads of con- 
 sumption, though long apparent to every one 
 around her, was now causing deep anxiety 
 to her friends. 
 
 " She was a little better yesterday, papa ; 
 she had passed a quieter night, and hoped to 
 be down in the drawing-room to-day. I 
 told her you might come this morning, and 
 she seemed so pleased, and said if you were 
 not too tired, perhaps you would call and see 
 her in the course of the day." 
 
 '' And so I will, my dear, were it only to 
 show that the treatment I have met with 
 from the bank, so far as it rests with me, 
 shall not be allowed to disturb the friendly 
 relations that have so long subsisted between 
 ourselves and her." 
 
 "But Mr. Craig may not have known 
 anything at all about the fraud that was 
 practised on you by the bank," suggested his 
 daughter. 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
274 THE BANKEES OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Mr. Selby shook his head, and gravely 
 answered — 
 
 '' I wish I could think so, Kate ; but ap- 
 pearances are terribly against him ; yet, 
 though I could never meet Mr. Craig on the 
 same friendly terms as before, it is not my 
 wish that all intercourse between the families 
 should cease; and, therefore, for his wife's 
 sake, and your own, Kate, I hope you will 
 continue your daily visits to Les Tourelles. 
 Mrs. Craig loves you dearly, and you have 
 now become so necessary to her comfort that 
 it would be cruel to deprive her of the 
 happiness of your society, and of those loving 
 little offices it is your delight to render her." 
 
 ** It would be so indeed, papa," answered 
 the daughter, " besides we could not dis- 
 continue our visits without stating why we 
 did so — and, oh, how painful both for her 
 and us to have to tell Mrs. Craig that it was 
 her husband's supposed dishonesty that had 
 led us to drop their acquaintance." 
 
 So the intercourse between the family at 
 Eoseneath and Mrs. Craig continued, much 
 
MR. CRAIG IS ARRESTED. 275 
 
 •on the same footing as before up to the time 
 of Mr. Craig's arrest. 
 
 And how did the gentle, pure-minded 
 invalid bear the shock of her husband's 
 disgrace and her own ? She bore it as her 
 Christian character taught her she ought to 
 bear it — without a murmur. But though she 
 •did not testify by any outward sign the 
 ^anguish it caused her, she did not feel it the 
 less keenly because she had the courage to 
 conceal it. It made her pray the more 
 fervently to be released from the burden of 
 this earthly tabernacle ; that she might rest 
 in that kingdom where " God shall wipe away 
 all tears from every eye ; and where there 
 shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor 
 crying, neither shall there be any more 
 pain." 
 
 But whilst she was striving to hide her 
 bitter agony in the silent recess of her own 
 heart, the effects of it were telling swiftly 
 and fatally upon her enfeebled health ; she 
 was now in the last stage of consumption, 
 and her position was rendered the more 
 
276 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 trying by the sense that she had no relative^ 
 now that Claude was away, to whom she 
 could turn for sympathy and support. 
 
 She had never made a confidant of her 
 nephew, Jules, as she had of Claude, for the 
 former possessed not the gentle, thoughtful 
 disposition of the younger brother, and their 
 aunt had never loved him as she loved 
 Claude. 
 
 There was one person, however, though an 
 alien to her in blood, and a comparative- 
 stranger, into whose sympathising ear she 
 felt she could still pour the sorrows of her 
 aching heart — for Kate Selby would still 
 come, she was sure, and try to comfort her 
 in this her season of sore affliction. And she 
 did come daily, and sat for hours at the 
 bedside of her dying friend, reading and 
 talking to her, and ministering to her peace 
 and consolation in every way that the most 
 loving care and devotion could suggest. 
 
 " 'Tis not for long," said the invalid, with 
 an air of quiet resignation, as Kate raised her 
 from the recumbent position in which she 
 
MR. ORAia IS ARRESTED. 277 
 
 was lying, in order that she might be the 
 better able to talk to her. " 'Tis not for 
 long, and I rejoice it is so, and that the end 
 of this great sorrow will never be known to 
 me ; but before I go, I wish to speak to you 
 of one whose name has not passed my lips for 
 many a year, and of whose existence you 
 have probably never heard — hit/ only brother, 
 Robert, who, though I have not seen him 
 since I was a mere child, is still very dear 
 to me. 
 
 " My father was twice married, and by his 
 first marriage had a son, an only son. He 
 was naturally of a frank and generous dis- 
 position, but he grew up wayward, self- 
 willed, and impatient of control. These 
 faults of temper I have heard my father say 
 might have been conquered, or greatly 
 modified, had a different system of training 
 'been pursued towards him from that which 
 was followed by those who had the charge 
 of him during the earlier years of his life ; 
 but unfortunately the clergyman and his 
 wife to whose care my brother was en- 
 
278 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 trusted during his boyhood, were not suited 
 for the task they had undertaken, for thej 
 only seemed to see the good points in his 
 character and none of the bad, or if they 
 were aware of the latter, they took no pains 
 to correct them ; so that accustomed as he- 
 was for years to have every idle whim and 
 fancy gratified, he had grown up from boy- 
 hood to manhood a melancholy example of 
 the evil of over-indulgence. His talents 
 were of no mean order, and had they been 
 properly directed, he might have proved an 
 honour to the name he bore ; but he disliked 
 work, and at Oxford, where my father had 
 sent him some years before my marriage, he 
 had only made himself conspicuous by his 
 reckless extravagance and dissipation. 
 
 " My father was not a wealthy man at that 
 time, and had denied himself many comforts 
 in order to ^ive his son the advantao-es of a 
 university education ; when, therefore, on 
 finally leaving college, it was discovered that 
 liobert had incurred debts amounting to 
 several thousand pounds, which it would put 
 
ME. CRAIG IS ARRESTED. 279 
 
 my father to serious inconvenience to dis- 
 charge, he, though a person not easily 
 betrayed into a fit of passion, for once lost 
 the command of his temper, and he denounced 
 the conduct of my brother in terms which the 
 latter's haughty spirit would not permit him 
 to brook. They then parted in anger, 
 Robert declaring^ with an oath that he would 
 never again cross the paternal threshold till 
 he could do so with the means at his 
 command for redeeming the debts his father 
 had been unexpectedly called upon to pay. 
 
 a Thirty years and more have passed since 
 Robert made that vow, and it still remains un- 
 fulfilled ; but although during this lengthened 
 interval he has only written to me two or 
 three times, and not once to his father, 
 something tells me, if he still be living, 
 that he may yefc redeem his promise, and 
 return to his native land. 
 
 "I have carefully preserved the letters he 
 sent me, the last of which is dated nearly 
 fifteen years ago, when he was on the eve of 
 starting for California ; and although there is 
 
280 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 not mucli in it or in his previous letters to 
 indicate the nature of the pursuits in which 
 he had engaged since he left his own country, 
 there is one brief sentence iu his last letter, 
 wherein he says, he hopes hy God's help still to 
 redeem his vow, that encourages me to believe 
 that he may yet be spared to return to his 
 native land, and in circumstances that will 
 enable him to be of service to his sister's 
 children. What I desire then, my dear 
 friend, is that you would take possession of 
 my brother's letters — you will find them tied 
 with red tape in the drawer of my dressing 
 case, and after showing them to your father, 
 ask him to make some inquiries respecting 
 Robert through the address given in his last 
 letter, and should he succeed in tracing him, 
 to get some friend or acquaintance to explain 
 the sad position in which his elder sister's 
 children are likely to be placed through the 
 failure of my husband's bank, the arrest of 
 the latter, and my own death." 
 
 Mrs. Craig felt much happier after she had 
 delivered the above commission to her young 
 
ME. CRAIG IS AERESTED. 281 
 
 friend, and seemed greatly comforted by 
 Kate's assurance that her father would spare 
 no exertion to trace out her brother and 
 apprise him, if living, of the position in which 
 his relatives at St. Hubert were placed by the 
 recent sad events. 
 
 Mrs. Craig did not live very long after 
 this, for though she retained her faculties to 
 the last, her bodily strength had been visibly 
 declining from the date of her husband's 
 arrest. 
 
 It chanced one morning that Kate, who for 
 some time past had divided with the nurse 
 the duty of sitting up at night in the sick 
 chamber, had left it to take a short turn in 
 the garden, leaving the latter alone in the 
 room with the invalid. Mrs. Craig was then 
 sleeping, but waking up shortly after, she asked 
 the nurse for a sight of the newspaper of the 
 previous day, which contained, as it happened, 
 an account of the proceedings before the 
 magistrate in her husband's case. 
 
 Ignorant of this, and desirous to gratify 
 her mistress, the nurse went for the 
 
282 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 paper, and propping up tlie sick lady in Iter 
 bed, gave it her to read. 
 
 A few minutes afterwards Miss Selby re- 
 entered the room, and softly approached the 
 bed ; all was quiet. She thought her friend 
 was still sleeping, but as she drew nearer, and 
 looked on the familiar features of her she 
 loved so dearly, there was a something in 
 the colour of the face and in the cold glassy 
 look of the eye that struck a sudden chill to 
 lier heart, and told her in language more ex- 
 pressive than any words that the slender 
 thread that bound her friend to this world 
 had snapped at last, and that her spirit had 
 fled to Him who formed it. 
 
 It was so ! In that paper so thoughtlessly 
 placed in lier hands, she had read the an- 
 nouncement of her husband's committal to 
 the assizes, and the shock it occasioned her 
 was beyond her strength to bear. 
 
 Her cup of affliction, as we know, was 
 already filled to overflowing, and but little 
 more was needed to sever the feeble bonds 
 that chained her still to earth , and that little 
 
ME. CRAIG IS ARRESTED. 288' 
 
 had now come in tlie incident we have just 
 related. On seeing that announcement the 
 life-blood had suddenly ceased to flow, and 
 the pulse to beat, the paper had dropped from 
 the dying lady's hands, and without a cry or 
 sound she had passed through the portals of 
 death to the realms of everlasting life. " The 
 silver cord was loosened, the golden bowl 
 broken, and the spirit had returned to the 
 God who gave it." 
 
 " Oh, nurse ! " said Miss Selby reproach- 
 fully, as the former on hearing an exclama- 
 tion of horror escape the latter's lips, had 
 jumped up from the easy chair in which she 
 was resting and hurried to the bed, *' Oh,, 
 nurse, what could have made you bring her 
 this ? " pointing to the newspaper with the 
 report of Mr. Craig's examination before the 
 magistrate lying open before them. 
 
 " Oh, I see it all ! It's me that has killed 
 her ! It's me that has done it ! " sobbed the 
 poor woman, who quickly realized the im- 
 prudence of which she had been guilty in not 
 first inquiring whether she might show the- 
 
284 THE BANKERS OE ST. HUBERT. 
 
 paper to her mistress, and was overwlielmed 
 with grief at the terrible consequences her 
 want of forethought had occasioned. 
 
 " Don't cry so, nurse ! Don't cry so ! '* 
 said Miss Selby soothingly, as the former kept 
 on wailing bitterly. "You meant no harm, 
 nobody can say that. But though she is 
 gone, we mustn't grieve for her, nurse, she 
 has long, long been praying for the end, for to 
 her to die was great gain. You know it is so, 
 .so dry your eyes, nurse dear, and rejoice, as 
 I do, that our dear friend has been taken 
 from the evil to come, and is now at rest in 
 lier heavenly Father's kingdom." 
 
 These few words of Kate's, so full of 
 sympathy and kindness, had quickly won 
 their way to the old woman's heart, for brush- 
 ing away her tears and looking brightly up, 
 she said — 
 
 " It's only the truth, Miss, what 3^ou say ! 
 It's only the truth ! She was too good for 
 this world, dear lady ; she's better where she 
 is ! " 
 
CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 THE committee's EEPORT. 
 
 The Attorn ej-Greneral had deemed it neces- 
 sary to act with promptitude in the matter of 
 Mr. Craig's arrest on account of the return of 
 our old acquaintance, Bartleman, who had 
 been appointed to the situation of night 
 porter at the Home and Foreign Discount in 
 order that he might be out of the way. 
 
 On the downfall of that concern he had 
 been discharged by the liquidators, with a 
 bonus of a month's pay, and had returned 
 and resumed his old occupation of a harbour 
 boatman. 
 
 A few days after his return it chanced that 
 Lawyer Jeffreys and his client, Le Bas, were 
 taking a stroll on the pier, the mail boat had 
 just arrived, and they were amusing them- 
 selves in watching the debarkation of the pas- 
 sengers and goods by means of the numerous 
 small boats. 
 
286 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Jeffreys and his companion were leaning 
 over the parapet wall of the pier, when Le Bas 
 suddenly drew the attention of the former to 
 one of the boats that had just reached the 
 landing place, by exclaiming in a highly 
 excited manner — 
 
 " That's the man ! that's the man ! I'm 
 sure of it, Mr. Jeffreys, I should know him 
 among; a thousand ; he's one of the men who 
 carried me off to France !" 
 
 " Which, which? " eagerly asked the lawyer, 
 looking in the direction of the boat. 
 
 " The man with the blue guernsey, that's 
 handing a hat box to the gentleman on the 
 steps," replied the other excitedly. 
 
 " Why, that's Bartleman ! I was told he'd 
 left the island jast before you got your dis- 
 charge. I wonder what's brought him back 
 again ? Are you quite certain that he is the 
 man r 
 
 " Perfectly," answered the young man, 
 without a moment's hesitation. 
 
 " Well, then, we'll just take a turn or two 
 along the pier till the coast is clear, and then 
 
THE committee's beport. 287 
 
 see wliat he has to say for himself. Don't 
 jou interfere on any account till I call you ; I 
 know the man I have to deal with, and can 
 manage him." 
 
 " Good-day, Bartleman, I'm glad to see you 
 back again," said the lawyer, addressing the 
 former about half an hour afterwards. " It's 
 a serious matter for a man like you with a 
 large family, to give up an old occupation 
 and take to new pursuits ; it seldom answers, 
 and Craig and Gresley didn't do you any 
 great kindness when they got you that new 
 berth." 
 
 The concluding remark of the lawyer was 
 a random shot, but it struck home, and im- 
 pressed the boatman with the belief that the 
 former was aware it was by the advice and 
 assistance of the above-named gentlemen that 
 lie had been persuaded to absent himself from 
 St. Hubert. 
 
 " P'r'aps not. Mister Jeffreys, but I sup- 
 pose they didn't know the Home and Furren, 
 as they calls it, was a going to smash when 
 they gave me the situation of porter at that 
 
288 THE BANKEES OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 concern ; whetlier or no, as I wasn't wanted 
 any longer and they gived me an extra 
 month's wages, I'm home again as you see, 
 and back at the old business." 
 
 '' You had better stick to that, Eartleman, 
 for your old friends, Craig and Gresley, are 
 not likely to help you again." 
 
 '' I don't suppose they are now they're 
 smashed themselves," said the boatman. 
 
 ''Yet," continued the lawyer, " you made 
 a good thing of them ; they paid well enough 
 when work was done to their liking. What 
 did they pay you two men for that little job at 
 Roche's Point?" 
 
 The boatman looked at his interrogator 
 with a strangely puzzled look, but he said no- 
 thing. The lawyer's question had taken him 
 completely aback, and deprived him of all 
 power of speech, and he could only stare in- 
 quiringly at the questioner. 
 
 The shrewd lawyer saw his advantage, and 
 promptly followed it up. 
 
 "It was a well-managed job, Bartleman, 
 but it's all come out, and as it can be proved 
 
THE committee's kepoet. 289 
 
 that you had a hand in it, you would not hurt 
 any one by ' peaching ' now, and would most 
 likely get o££ scot-free yourself. I would 
 advise you, as a friend, to make a clean breast 
 of it. In that case I think I might ensure you 
 against any unpleasant consequences. Other- 
 wise you must take your chance." 
 
 " Mister Jeffreys," said the boatman, after 
 he had carefully considered the proposal, 
 ''you're a clever man — everybody knows 
 that ; but as there's no one as can swear I 
 had any hand in that job, I'd rather let 
 matters remain as they are." 
 
 " But there is some one who can swear 
 you had a hand in it, my man, and here he 
 is!" 
 
 And as he spoke, Louis Le Bas jumped up 
 from beneath the wall where he had been con- 
 cealed, and confronting the boatman, said — 
 
 '' It's idle to deny it, Bartleman, you were 
 one of the men who pinioned me, and I should 
 know you among a thousand.'' 
 
 " Well Mister Jeffreys," said the boatman, 
 
 VOL. I. w 
 
290 THE BANKERS OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 iiD! a quick decided tone, '' I ain't no matcli 
 for tlie likes of you, I see that, so as I can't 
 deny what the youngster says, I'll make the 
 statement you want." 
 
 So Bartleman, accompanied by Mr. Jeffreys 
 and Le Bas, proceeded direct to Mr. Syvret's 
 oflBce, whom fortunately they found dis- 
 engaged, and the boatman's deposition being 
 taken down, Mr. Syvret deemed the case to 
 be of so serious a nature, that he issued an 
 immediate warrant for Mr. Craig's arrest. 
 This step was the more necessary from the 
 circumstance that the principal offender had 
 already absconded. 
 
 The report of the committee of investiga- 
 tion into the affairs of the bank was strangely 
 at variance with the opinion of the chairman 
 as expressed at the meeting of shareholders. 
 It showed that the bank had been in a state 
 of insolvency for years, that instead of there 
 being a balance at its credit, as was stated by 
 the chairman, the liabilities amounted to the 
 enormous sum of two hundred thousand 
 'pounds, whilst its assets, if realized, could 
 
THE committee's REPORT. 291 
 
 not be estimated at more than a tenth of 
 iihat amount. 
 
 The report went on to say, that notwith- 
 standing the proposal for the issue of some 
 additional notes had been recently negatived 
 by the directors, that several thousand 
 pounds of notes had been issued by the chair- 
 man and the manager. It further stated that 
 certain securities lodged with the bank for 
 safe custody by some of its customers, had 
 been sold in London without the owners* 
 knowledge or consent, and the proceeds ap- 
 propriated by the chairman and manager. 
 Under these circumstances it would be im- 
 possible for the bank to continue its busi- 
 ness, and the report concluded by recom- 
 mending that liquidators be appointed to wind 
 up its affairs. 
 
 Such in brief was the substance of the re- 
 port, and the people appeared to be stunned 
 or dazed when they began to realize the ex- 
 tent of the misfortune that had fallen upon 
 them. 
 
 Never before had such an event occurred 
 
292 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 as the failure of a bank I From year to year 
 in its blind and infatuated belief in the- 
 trustworthiness of directors' reports, and the 
 infallibility of official figures, the simple- 
 minded island population had gone on trust- 
 ing its worldly substance to the keeping of 
 the two unprincipled schemers, Craig and 
 Gresley, till they were rudely awakened from 
 their dream of fancied security to find them- 
 selves reduced to beggary and ruin. 
 
 It would be difficult to measure the extent 
 of the evil caused by the failure of the bank 
 in question ! The misery it occasioned could 
 hardly be exaggerated. 
 
 Its disastrous effects were wide-spread and 
 well nigh universal. It broke up many a 
 home, brought mourning into many a house- 
 hold, and consigned many a sufferer to 
 despair, or sent him to end his days in a 
 madhouse. 
 
 The above is not an overdrawn picture of 
 some of the consequences that followed 
 the suspension of Craig and Gresley's 
 bank. Instances even of suicide — the 
 
THE committee's eepoet. 293 
 
 result of despair, had occurred, and added 
 intensely to the feelinp^ of universal gloom 
 that prevailed among all classes. The 
 evil that ensued was not confined solely to 
 the shareholders and depositors of Craig and 
 Co. ; a strong and persistent ran was made 
 ■upon each of the other local banks. 
 
 Many of these, in fact, for several dajs 
 were placed in imminent jeopardy by the 
 sudden and unexpected pressure that was 
 put upon them, and were only eventually 
 enabled to weather the storm by having re- 
 peated recourse to the telegraph, and thus 
 securing in time the requisite supply of 
 bullion to cover the notes they had issued as 
 well as their other liabilities. 
 
 The magnitude of the misfortune can be 
 estimated by the fact that the one-pound 
 notes put in circulation by the different local 
 banking associations amounted to the enor- 
 mous sum of about £200,000 at the date of the 
 •committee's report ! that is at the rate of 
 more than £3 per head of the whole popula- 
 (tion, and that for several days the whole of 
 
294 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 these notes were more or less discredited and 
 refused acceptance. It was only therefore by 
 the most strenuous and unexampled efforts 
 that the banks and other societies that issued 
 them, were able to redeem them in time to 
 save themselves against the alternative of 
 suspending payment. 
 
 The difficulty, too, was much increased by 
 the extreme ignorance of the panic-stricken 
 country population, who, in some instances, 
 when tendering their island notes for pay- 
 ment, resolutely refused to accept Bank of 
 England notes. 
 
 '' What's this ? " said a well-to-do farmer, 
 from St. Pierre, to the cashier of the Town 
 and Country Bank, holding up a £5 Bank of 
 Eno^land note the latter had o-iven him. 
 "What's this? I don't know this bank at 
 all ! This note may be no better than yours 
 for aught I know to the contrary ! " 
 
 Two banks only succumbed to the general 
 pressure, but the rest sustained a shock that 
 it required years to recover from. Banking 
 for the time was brought to a standstill, trade^ 
 
THE committee's REPORT. 295 
 
 was paralysed, and public confidence shaken 
 to its foundations. And yet nothing what- 
 ever was done, or attempted to be done to 
 repair the evil ! 
 
 The island senators looked on with folded 
 hands, lackinsf in their constitutional in- 
 capacity both the power and the will to 
 devise any remedy for a state of things which 
 threatened to bring the settlement over which 
 they ruled into universal bankruptcy. 
 
 Though the immediate cause which led to 
 Mr. Craig's arrest, was his complicity in the 
 attack and abduction of Louis Le Bas, the 
 indictment contained another grave charge — ■ 
 that of embezzling and fraudulently appro- 
 priating to his own use certain shares in the 
 Paris and Orleans Railway, the property of 
 the late Mathilde Le Bas, mother of the afore- 
 named Louis Le Bas. 
 
 " We could not very well have separated 
 these charo^es," observed the Attornev- 
 General to Mr. Jeffreys, on their meeting at 
 the office of the latter shortly after Mr. Craig's 
 arrest, *' because the offences are so inti- 
 
296 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 mately connected that it was essential they 
 should be tried together." 
 
 *' Quite so, Mr. Sjvret, they must be dealt 
 with together, as the second offence was only 
 a consequence of the first, and if that were es- 
 tablished, it would be strong corroborative 
 evidence of the truth of the other." 
 
 "It is very fortunate you got hold of 
 Bartleman, Mr. Jeffreys," continued the 
 Attorney-General, '' his statement enabled us 
 to take immediate action, for after Gresley's 
 giving us the slip, it would hardly have been 
 safe to allow Craig to remain at large, 
 especially as we could not well proceed with 
 the other matters until after the committee 
 had issued their report." 
 
 " It is most fortunate, as you say, Mr. 
 Syvret, not that I think Matthew Craig is the 
 kind of man to run away like his colleague 
 Gresley." 
 
 " Perhaps not," said the other, '' but it was 
 just as well for us to be on the safe side ; 
 besides the abduction of Le Bas taken in con- 
 nection with the previous offence of robbing 
 
THE committee's REPORT. 297 
 
 his mother, was too serious a matter to 
 stand over, and demanded prompt action on 
 our part." 
 
 " Both charges wear a very awkward aspect 
 for the prisoner, but whether you'll get a 
 jury to convict, is quite another question, Mr. 
 Syvret." 
 
 " We must take our chance of that," re- 
 plied the other. " Our business was to see 
 that the prisoner was brought to trial — the 
 jury must decide the rest ! " 
 
 Amid the storm of loud and angry execra- 
 tions which Mr. Craig's malpractices had 
 drawn down upon him, there was mingled a 
 feeling of heartfelt pity for his unfortunate 
 wife, and when it became known that she 
 had died of grief and shame on learning the 
 news of her husband's committal to the 
 assizes, the popular sympathy aud respect for 
 her memory were strikingly exemplified by 
 vast crowds of persons of all classes following 
 her remains to the grave. 
 
 At the head of a long and mournful cortege 
 were Claude Dubois and his brother Jules. 
 
298 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 The former had come over a day or two be- 
 fore the funeral, though he could be ill spared 
 from his duties since he was the only person 
 in the office of the late Home and Foreign 
 Discount Corporation capable of affording 
 any trustworthy or intelligible information 
 respecting the affairs of that bubble com- 
 pany. 
 
 The liquidators had made strong objections 
 to his leaving his post at such a juncture, but 
 when he told them he would resign his ap- 
 pointment rather than forego the melancholy 
 satisfaction of attending his aunt's remains to 
 their last resting place, they had granted him 
 a week's leave of absence. 
 
 It was a sad journey for Claude ! but the 
 shame and sorrow with which it was as- 
 sociated, were counterbalanced to some extent 
 by the prospect of again meeting Kate Selby, 
 and of their being left once more to the free 
 and unrestrained enjoyment of each other's 
 society. 
 
 " Oh, Kate ! " began the young man, the 
 
THE committee's eepoet. 299 
 
 first time he found himself alone with her, 
 *' how I have longed to see you since my 
 meeting with your father that I might explain 
 the part I took in that sad business which 
 brought him to London, and receive from 
 your own lips the approval he has already 
 accorded. Say then, Kate, did I act rightly 
 in denouncing my guardian ? " 
 
 "Eightly! Claude. Who could doubt 
 it ? " she answered. " It was a painful duty, 
 many would have shrunk from it ; but I re- 
 ioice that vou had the courao^e to discharsfe 
 
 it." 
 
 " Oh, this is indeed happiness ! " he said, 
 " and will give me fresh energy to win 
 the independence on which the realization of 
 my best hopes on earth depend." 
 
 " And God will crown your efforts with 
 success," said she, " in spite of the difficulties 
 that beset your path, for I fear you are likely 
 to lose your present appointment. Is that 
 true, Claude ? " 
 
 " It is too true," he replied, "bat before 
 
300 THE BANKERS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 relinquishing it I hope to have secured another 
 better appointment." 
 
 "lam so glad to hear it," she said, her 
 naturally sanguine temperament, with so 
 encouraging a prospect, leading her to anti- 
 cipate the speedy fulfilment o£ their joint 
 hopes. 
 
 " There is one thino^ that causes me o:reat 
 pain, Kate, I feel that it is neither wise nor 
 becoming under the sad circumstances in 
 which my family is placed, that we should 
 indulge in dreams like these. And if," he 
 added, with visible emotion, '' the issue of 
 the coming trial should disappoint general 
 expectations, and Mr. Craig be found guilty 
 of the crimes laid to his charge, could I ever 
 ask you then, or could you ever consent your- 
 self, to cast in your lot with mine, and wed 
 the nephew of a convicted felon r' " 
 
 " I would," she answered quickly. '' How 
 little you can know of woman's heart, and of 
 my feeling towards you, Claude," she went 
 on in a tone of gentle reproach, "as to sup- 
 
THE COMMITTEE S EEPOET. 301 
 
 pose that I should desert you at the time of 
 jour greatest trouble." 
 
 '' You wrong me, Kate, believe me," re- 
 turned Claude. '' It was not that I doubted 
 your love for an instant, but that I doubted 
 whether I could reconcile it to my conscience, 
 to demand so great a sacrifice at the hands 
 of any woman, much less from the one who 
 is dearer to me than all the world beside." 
 
 " But why anticipate an adverse verdict, 
 Claude, when, as papa assures me, even those 
 best qualified to judge are very doubtful of 
 the issue ? " 
 
 '' Because, Kate," he sorrowfully replied, 
 " I know more of the charges and the evi- 
 dence on which they rest, than anybody else, 
 except the Attorney-General and the lawyers 
 who drew them up, and because I feel it will 
 be impossible for the accused to rebut 
 them." 
 
 The decided manner in which Claude spoke 
 left no doubt on Miss Selby's mind as to the 
 extreme gravity of the situation in which Mr. 
 
302 THE BANKERS OP ST. HUBERT. 
 
 Craig was placed, and went far to dissipate 
 the hopes of an acquittal, which a recent 
 conversation with her father had led her to 
 entertain. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
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UNIVERSfTY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
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