Hereupon Raffles, who had lifted his hat with the last words, turned

himself round with a swing of his leg and walked away. Will looked

after him a moment, and could see that he did not re-enter the

auction-room, but appeared to be walking towards the road. For an

instant he thought that he had been foolish not to let the man go on

talking;--but no! on the whole he preferred doing without knowledge

from that source.

Later in the evening, however, Raffles overtook him in the street, and

appearing either to have forgotten the roughness of his former

reception or to intend avenging it by a forgiving familiarity, greeted

him jovially and walked by his side, remarking at first on the

pleasantness of the town and neighborhood. Will suspected that the man

had been drinking and was considering how to shake him off when Raffles

said--

"I've been abroad myself, Mr. Ladislaw--I've seen the world--used to

parley-vous a little. It was at Boulogne I saw your father--a most

uncommon likeness you are of him, by Jove! mouth--nose--eyes--hair

turned off your brow just like his--a little in the foreign style.

John Bull doesn't do much of that. But your father was very ill when I

saw him. Lord, lord! hands you might see through. You were a small

youngster then. Did he get well?"

"No," said Will, curtly.

"Ah! Well! I've often wondered what became of your mother. She ran

away from her friends when she was a young lass--a proud-spirited

lass, and pretty, by Jove! I knew the reason why she ran away," said

Raffles, winking slowly as he looked sideways at Will.

"You know nothing dishonorable of her, sir," said Will, turning on him

rather savagely. But Mr. Raffles just now was not sensitive to shades

of manner.

"Not a bit!" said he, tossing his head decisively "She was a little too

honorable to like her friends--that was it!" Here Raffles again winked

slowly. "Lord bless you, I knew all about 'em--a little in what you

may call the respectable thieving line--the high style of

receiving-house--none of your holes and corners--first-rate. Slap-up

shop, high profits and no mistake. But Lord! Sarah would have known

nothing about it--a dashing young lady she was--fine

boarding-school--fit for a lord's wife--only Archie Duncan threw it at

her out of spite, because she would have nothing to do with him. And

so she ran away from the whole concern. I travelled for 'em, sir, in a

gentlemanly way--at a high salary. They didn't mind her running away

at first--godly folks, sir, very godly--and she was for the stage. The

son was alive then, and the daughter was at a discount. Hallo! here we

are at the Blue Bull. What do you say, Mr. Ladislaw?--shall we turn in

and have a glass?"




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