Shrewdly said! Mr. Sparhawk agreed with this. There would have been a hue and cry had Blake been hunted out of his wallows in the gulf and the Carribbees. No, there was another reason. Hark to this! It might be that the letters of marque given out by the new French envoy attracted him, he seeing prospects of a deal of loot in their protection. But Mr. Sparhawk, so it seemed, put this idea forward only to demolish it; for, as he said, Blake had arrived in the port some months before Citizen Genêt stepped from the French republican ship at Charleston.
"It may be that the pirate had word of the Frenchman's coming," said Anthony.
Again, pointedly said! Mr. Sparhawk nodded in high good humor. It was really a pleasure to talk with a young man like Anthony; after all, there was nothing in the world like an active mind. Yes, it was quite possible that the freebooter knew of Genêt's coming; also, it was quite possible that others knew of it. Indeed, and Mr. Sparhawk grew quite confidential and very low of voice, that some others knew of it first was quite likely—others who were interested in such possibilities, and gave attention to making the most of them.
"What others?" asked Anthony.
Mr. Sparhawk smiled and shook his head; then he took out his snuff-box, which was of gold and scrolled very handsomely upon the lid. He offered it to Anthony; but, no, the young man would not have a pinch, for there was his hurt head to think of. So Mr. Sparhawk took some alone and sat tapping the box reflectively.
There were some things of which we are quite sure, he told Anthony, but of which we can give no very definite account. Very frequently matters went forward which one's mind could sense but which one's eye could not see. The days in which they found themselves were trying days. Honest men were much called upon to protect their rights; and dishonest ones were quick to take advantage. And these advantages were many. Wars for the complete unsettling of human society were going forward. The public mind was seeking new levels. Much was being done in the name of liberty which was tyranny; much was branded tyranny which, did you take the husk from it, was bright with freedom. This Citizen Genêt, now: despite all that the Tories said about him, he was no brawler from the gutters, who had seized upon liberty as a means of hoisting himself upon the backs of other men. He had been brought up in the court of the French King; he was a man of letters, and a diplomat who'd learned his trade in the capitals of Europe. Was it possible, and the little man asked this question earnestly of Anthony, that such a man would have taken the steps he had taken immediately upon setting foot in the United States unless he had been strongly advised? "Would he have so flouted and disregarded all the desires and requirements of the American Government unless there had been an influence at work upon him, upon which he felt he could thoroughly rely? Some one must have assured him that the Government's protests were empty things, without body or meaning, and that, despite them, he could commission ships to sail against British commerce from our ports. Who, asked Mr. Sparhawk, could have given these assurances? In whom, in this country, could Genêt have placed such complete confidence? Was it an American? It was not likely. Was it a Frenchman? That seemed nearer the fact.
"What Frenchman have you in mind?" asked Anthony keenly.
But this was a question which Mr. Sparhawk seemed in no haste to answer. And he said so; Anthony was a young man, and young men, he held, should work out their own opinions and lay the foundations for their own beliefs. But, for all that, and he tapped the scrolled lid of the snuff-box as he said this, he was not averse to what might be called a general suggestion. The adviser of Citizen Genêt was almost sure to be one who had known the republican minister in Europe—and one who was possibly concerned in shipping. Mr. Sparhawk nodded his head, quite convinced of this. But who the man was he could not say, and the head here was shaken with equal conviction. Of course, every one was entitled to privately hazard an opinion. No one could find fault with that. And he would not deny that he had hazarded his own. But he could say no more than this; if such a person, or persons, were to be found; if he, or they, could be induced to talk, a deal would be learned, much public villainy might be prevented, and the routing out of a burrow of rats that had given grievous private trouble might be begun.
Anthony nodded his bandaged head but said nothing. Mr. Sparhawk talked with care, blunting the point of each remark after it had entered, and leaving no salient thing upon which one might hang a definite meaning. When they had finished their wine, Anthony arose and bade him good day; and when on the street he turned in the direction of Rufus Stevens' Sons.