"Explain it, and briefly. Stay--have I not seen your face somewhere?"
Seth Dumbrick made no immediate reply. He had no desire to recall to Mr. Temple's memory the circumstances of the unpleasant interview that had taken place between them many years ago. He himself had recognised Mr. Temple the moment he entered the room, his cause for remembrance being the stronger of the two. Mr. Temple had an unerring memory for faces, but his meeting with Seth Dumbrick lay so far in the past, and his life was so varied and full of colour, that he could not for the moment connect the face with the circumstance.
"Answer me," he said peremptorily. "Have I not seen you before?"
"You have, sir."
"Where?"
"Years ago--at Springfield--when I, with two children, was taking a holiday in the country."
"Ah, I remember perfectly. Our meeting was not a pleasant one."
"It was not my fault that it was not so."
"I remember also that you gave me the address of an inn at which you were stopping, and that I informed you I should call there. I did call, and you had gone. You ran away, I presume."
"I followed my course, being a free man, and not bound to wait for strangers."