"I suppose he will consider you quite a gone 'coon, as the Yankees say; but you must haul up for the Mauritius (if we can find a ship for thence at Rio, which is not very likely) and have the fellow exposed, tried, and punished as he deserves."
"Punished! how know I that ere I can reach the Mauritius, penniless as I am——"
"Penniless! You young swab, don't you know that you can command my purse—no great matter certainly—to the last farthing?"
"Thanks, my dear Bartelot."
"Well, as you were about to say, before you may reach the Mauritius——"
"He may be—he may be——"
"What?"
"The husband of Ethel Basset."
"Whe-e-e-uh!" whistled Tom Bartelot.
"How can I foresee what one so subtle, so daring, so reckless as Hawkshaw may achieve!"