There have been many attempts but
no one yet has ever succeeded in blackmailing me. No one ever
will. I give you this thousand pounds willingly. It is what you
have asked for. Never let me see your face again. If you come
to me starving, it will be useless. I shall not part with
another penny.'"
The man's simple way of telling his story, his speech, slow and
uneven on account of his faltering breath, seemed all to add to
the dramatic nature of his disclosure. Francis found himself
sitting like a child who listens to a fairy story.
"And then?" he asked simply.
"I went off with the money," Walter continued, "and I had cruel
bad luck. I put it into a pub. I was robbed a little, I drank a
little, my wife wasn't any good. I lost it all, sir. I found
myself destitute. I went back to Sir Timothy."
"Well?"
The man shifted his feet nervously. He seemed to have come to
the difficult part of his story.
"Sir Timothy was as hard as nails," he said slowly. "He saw me.
The moment I had finished, he rang the bell. 'Hedges,' he said
to the manservant who came in, 'this man has come here to try and
blackmail me. Throw him out. If he gives any trouble, send for
the police. If he shows himself here again, send for the
police."'
"What happened then?"
"Well, I nearly blurted out the whole story," the man confessed,
"and then I remembered that wouldn't do me any good, so I went
away.
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