374: THE MASTER OP THE HOUNDS. 



" You are a d d rascal ! " exclaimed Lord Henry, ''and 



deserve to be transported ; but what shall we do, Forrester ? " 



" Cage him, my lord, cage him, by all manner of means ; 

 he gave me the slip once before in a little swindling affair — ■ 

 'tis the same youngster, I verily believe." 



" Oh, no, sir ; indeed I never saw you before in my life, to 

 the best of my recollection." 



" Which seems to be werry bad, young gentleman," replied 

 Forrester. " It wants brushing up a little ; you'll soon re- 

 member something more, when we have a quiet chat in the 

 lock-up to-night. But stay a moment, just let ine have a look 

 at my memorandum book. ' Mark M. on left arm ; ' " and, 

 without ceremony, pulling up the young man's sleeve, " Here 

 it is, my lord," exclaimed the officer, " right as a trivet." 



On this discovery, Monkton's appeals to Lord Henry for 

 mercy were renewed, offering to make a full confession if he 

 ■would only spare him being sent to prison. 



" Then sit down and let us hear what you have to say first," 

 replied his lordship, " and I will put it down on paper." 



Monkton then made the following declaration : that his 

 aunt, now Mrs. Douglas, but formerly Miss Monkton, had left 

 England as the mistress of Mr. Douglas, to whom she had been 

 married only a few weeks previous to his death, and when 

 there remained no hopes of his recovery. That on her return 

 to London she was advised to consult Mr. Mangle on the state 

 of her affairs, and with the aid and advice of that worthy, a 

 plot was concocted to substitute himself as her son instead of 

 nephew, and alter the date of the marriage certificate to two 

 years previous to the time of its being performed ; and he, 

 Monkton, was to be substituted by his aunt and another woman, 

 as her son, born in wedlock, and, therefore, heir to the property. 



" Yery good indeed," said Forrester, when Monkton ceased 

 Speaking, " a very pretty little scheme ; just the sort of thing 

 to get a man's passage paid for him across the herring pool. 

 Have you ever been in India, Mr. Monkton 1 " inquired For- 

 rester. 



" I don't remember being there, sir ; perhaps I may, when 

 very young." 



" Oh, very likely, with your mamma," added the officer, 

 laughing ; " but it will be my business now to find out your 

 birth, parentage, and education, young gentleman; and I rather 

 think your worthy father fills a situation at the London Docks." 



There was no reply. 



