Hugh had not said or thought of saying, but he told him; and thisinquiry being followed by a long train of questions, he related allthat had passed both in and out of doors, the kind of people he hadseen, their numbers, state of feeling, mode of conversation,apparent expectations and intentions. His questioning was soartfully contrived, that he seemed even in his own eyes tovolunteer all this information rather than to have it wrested fromhim; and he was brought to this state of feeling so naturally, thatwhen Mr Chester yawned at length and declared himself quite weariedout, he made a rough kind of excuse for having talked so much.
"There--get you gone," said Sir John, holding the door open in hishand. "You have made a pretty evening"s work. I told you not todo this. You may get into trouble. You"ll have an opportunity ofrevenging yourself on your proud friend Haredale, though, and forthat, you"d hazard anything, I suppose?"
"I would," retorted Hugh, stopping in his passage out and lookingback; "but what do I risk! What do I stand a chance of losing,master? Friends, home? A fig for "em all; I have none; they arenothing to me. Give me a good scuffle; let me pay off old scoresin a bold riot where there are men to stand by me; and then use meas you like--it don"t matter much to me what the end is!"
"What have you done with that paper?" said Sir John.
"I have it here, master."
"Drop it again as you go along; it"s as well not to keep suchthings about you."
Hugh nodded, and touching his cap with an air of as much respect ashe could summon up, departed.
Sir John, fastening the doors behind him, went back to hisdressing-room, and sat down once again before the fire, at whichhe gazed for a long time, in earnest meditation.
"This happens fortunately," he said, breaking into a smile, "andpromises well. Let me see. My relative and I, who are the mostProtestant fellows in the world, give our worst wishes to the RomanCatholic cause; and to Saville, who introduces their bill, I havea personal objection besides; but as each of us has himself forthe first article in his creed, we cannot commit ourselves byjoining with a very extravagant madman, such as this Gordon mostundoubtedly is. Now really, to foment his disturbances in secret,through the medium of such a very apt instrument as my savagefriend here, may further our real ends; and to express at allbecoming seasons, in moderate and polite terms, a disapprobation ofhis proceedings, though we agree with him in principle, willcertainly be to gain a character for honesty and uprightness ofpurpose, which cannot fail to do us infinite service, and to raiseus into some importance. Good! So much for public grounds. As toprivate considerations, I confess that if these vagabonds WOULDmake some riotous demonstration (which does not appear impossible),and WOULD inflict some little chastisement on Haredale as a notinactive man among his sect, it would be extremely agreeable to myfeelings, and would amuse me beyond measure. Good again! Perhapsbetter!"
When he came to this point, he took a pinch of snuff; thenbeginning slowly to undress, he resumed his meditations, by sayingwith a smile:
"I fear, I DO fear exceedingly, that my friend is following fast inthe footsteps of his mother. His intimacy with Mr Dennis is veryominous. But I have no doubt he must have come to that end anyway. If I lend him a helping hand, the only difference is, that hemay, upon the whole, possibly drink a few gallons, or puncheons, orhogsheads, less in this life than he otherwise would. It"s nobusiness of mine. It"s a matter of very small importance!"
So he took another pinch of snuff, and went to bed.