‘I beg your pardon; but is that all you wanted to say to me?’
‘I should have thought that it was of some importance to you,’ he observed.
‘Certainly,’ said I, regaining my composure a little; ‘but your courtesy and kindness had already reassured me.’
He bowed his acknowledgments, and proceeded in a most leisurely tone, sorting the papers and documents before him into orderly heaps.
‘On the death of the Pasha, the government of the island having devolved temporarily on me, I thought it my duty to examine his Excellency’s—curse the dog!—his Excellency’s despatch-box, with the result that I have discovered very remarkable evidences of the schemes which he dared to entertain. With this, however, perhaps I need not trouble you.’
‘I wouldn’t intrude into it for the world,’ I said.
‘I discovered also,’ he pursued, in undisturbed leisure and placidity, ‘among the Pasha’s papers a letter addressed to—’
‘Me?’ and I sprang forward.
‘No, to your cousin, to this gentleman. Pursuing what I conceived to be my duty—and I must trust to Mr Swinton to forgive me—’ Here the exasperating fellow paused, looked at Denny, waited for a bow from Denny, duly received it, duly and with ceremony returned it, sighed as though he were much relieved at Denny’s complaisance, cleared his throat, arranged a little heap of papers on his left hand, and at last—oh, at last!—went on.