"And perhaps preside over trials?"
"Well, yes, sometimes."
"Ha, ha!"
"What are you laughing at?" demanded the squire irritably.
"It is a good joke. Suppose the good people here were acquainted with your real character?"
"Hush; this is no time for jesting. You might be overheard. Now, what news?"
"Well, there isn't much. Things have been pretty quiet. You haven't been at any of our meetings lately?"
"No; I did not care to excite suspicion. I've been engaged in a little enterprise on my own account."
"What, here?"