"Damn you, don't paw me about!" Stephen said, shaking him off. "I've been quite sufficiently nauseated by Mottisfont's pretty picture of his own totally non-existent influence over Uncle Nat. So you could handle him, could you? You just let him bluster himself out, did you? By God, I won't have the old devil belittled by a damned little worm like you! You went in mortal dread of him, and well you know it!"
"How dare you speak to me like that?" stammered Mottisfont. "You know nothing about my relationship with Nat! Nothing! Because you knew no better than to quarrel with him, you think no one had more sense! Well, I was dealing with Nat when you were at a kindergarten! Puppy!"
"Edgar! Stephen!" implored Joseph, wringing his hands. "This isn't worthy of either of you! What must the Inspector think?"
The futility of this agonised enquiry drew a sound like a snarl from Stephen, but only made Hemingway say cheerfully: "Oh, you don't want to worry about me, sir! Perhaps, since Mr. Stephen Herriard seems to know all about it, he'd like to tell me what this new deal was that his uncle didn't hold with?"
"Gun-running," said Stephen.
Mottisfont grasped the arms of the chair he was sitting in as though he were about to jump up, and then relaxed again. It isn't difficult to believe that you'd stab a man in the back!" he said, in a trembling voice.
"I'd already noticed that you found no difficulty in believing it!" retorted Stephen.
"Stephen, Stephen, don't let your tongue betray you into saying what you can only regret! That was unpardonable of you, Edgar, unpardonable!" Joseph said.
"Oh yes, what I say is unpardonable, but what your precious nephew says is quite another matter, isn't it?" Mottisfont sneered.
"Edgar, you know what Stephen is just as well as I do! I'm not excusing him. But as for letting him get a rise out of you with his absurd, nonsense about gun-running - ! For shame, Edgar! Of course, no one believes you were mixed up with anything of the sort! Why, it sounds like one of those lurid films which I, alas, am too much of an old stager to enjoy!"