“Mr. Conrad,” said Merry, very slowly, “it is unnecessary for you to play the hypocrite with me.”
“Eh? What do you mean, sir?”
“Just what I say. I know you for just what you are, and that is an unprincipled scoundrel!”
“Be careful! be careful!” blustered the man, growing red in the face and making a threatening gesture. “I will not endure such insolence from you!”
“I am glad of this opportunity to tell you just what I think of you,” said Frank, grimly. “If I had not met you here by accident, I should have sought you. You lured my guardian into your robber scheme, and you fleeced him easily, as you have many other men; but the time will come when you will overstep the bounds, and the hand of the law will reach you.”
“You have no right to make such statements! Horace Scotch was eager to invest money in the Golden Peaks Mining and Smelting Company. I did not lure him into doing so, and I will not be accused of it. He did ask my advice, and I gave it. I believed the concern solid and all right. I was mistaken, that is all.”
“It is known that the whole business was a fake, and you were one of the chief movers in it. The greater portion of the money you obtained through Horace Scotch went into your own pocket. It is not the first time you have been implicated in fraudulent concerns. Once you were a poor man; now you are rich. You have made your money by fraud and crime!”
“I will have you arrested for using such language. It is criminal libel!”
“You are at liberty to have me arrested, but you will not dare, for you know I might be able to put you in a very bad box. I do not fear you.”
“It is scandalous—scandalous! Why, I really sympathized with you. I thought you would appreciate it.”