What was to be done now? The formidable Captain O'Blunderbuss held him—yes, him—Frank Curtis—answerable for the appearance of Sir Christopher Blunt on the field of battle; otherwise——but the alternative was too dreadful to think of!
What, then, was to be done? Frank saw the impossibility of nerving himself so as to encounter the desperate fire-eater; and yet he knew that the Captain would find him out, even if he removed his abode from the West-End to West Smithfield.
Yet something must be done—and that speedily; for it was now two o'clock in the afternoon—and next morning at eight the Captain would expect him at the place of appointment.
An idea struck Frank:—he would go and consult Mr. Howard, the attorney.
To that gentleman's offices he accordingly repaired, composing himself by the way as well as he could, so as not to express by his countenance the alarms which agitated within his breast.
Mr. Howard was disengaged, and gave him an immediate audience.
"Well, I hope you're satisfied, now that you hanged that poor fellow yesterday morning," said Frank, as he took the chair to which the solicitor pointed.
"It was a duty which I owed to society," returned Howard, laconically, as if the subject were not altogether a pleasant one.
"What an idea!" ejaculated Frank. "But, however, it is done, and can't be undone. After all, he was a brave fellow—a man just such as I could have admired, barring the highway part of his calling. And now, you who are such a stickler about duties to society, and so on—suppose you heard, for instance, that a duel was going to take place between some friends of yours and another party—of course you'd do all you could to stop it—you'd go to Bow Street, and you'd give private information concerning the where and the when;—or perhaps you'd speak openly, and get the persons bound over to keep the peace—eh?"
"I should not do anything of the kind," answered Howard, who already began to suspect that Mr. Frank Curtis had some special reason of his own for speaking with so much earnestness—indeed, with such an air of appeal, as he now displayed.