THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 243 



" Oh, reall}' ! then he doesn't actually mean it, eh ? " 



" 'Sh,-h'sh," whispered Mr. Clutchcosts, and Binkie subsided 

 into silence as the mellifluous tones went evenly on, detailing 

 much of what Travers had said, and a great deal more that 

 he had never even thought of, and after introducing the 

 subject of the defendant's last letter to his client, the great 

 Q.C., with something of a triumphant flourish, produced that 

 precious document, adducing it as evidence, clear and decisive, 

 that the story told by the fair plaintiff was true, whilst that 

 relied on for the defence was one which, when submitted to 

 such intelligent brains as those pertaining to the jurymen he 

 saw before him, would not, he contended, hold water for one 

 moment. "In that letter," proceeded Mr. Smoothe Silky, 

 waving it airily about in his hand, as he bent forward to 

 address the jury still more confidently, " what do we find ? 

 Do we discover any repudiation of what my client alleged, 

 namely, that Mr. Binkie had promised to make her his wife ? 

 No ! There is an attempt, it is true, to explain away " 



" I don't want to interrupt my learned friend unneces- 

 sarily," said Ronald, rising at this juncture, " but I must ask 

 him to read the whole of the letter, if he is going to comment 

 on it at this stage." 



"Oh, certainly, certainly ; we have nothing to conceal ! " 

 replied the great Queen's Counsel with a majestic air, and he 

 then read through the whole of Travers's somewhat unfortunate 

 screed, written in reply to Miss Turnover's threat of an action. 

 " And, gentlemen, I beg to draw your special attention to the 

 very last paragraph of this precious effusion. Let me read 

 these words to you again — ' I might marry you some day or 

 other, who knows ? — that is, if you don't put the matter into 



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