"It's a lie!" he exclaimed, speaking rather what he wished than what he believed.
"You are mistaken," said Gilbert, in the same calm tone. "The paper you have just torn up was in my own handwriting."
"I have no doubt of that. I thought, all the time, that it was an imposture which you had got up."
"I made a copy of it from the original this morning," said our hero.
"Why did you not bring the original, if there is one?"
"Because I was afraid you might be tempted to destroy it. It seems I was right," added Gilbert, with a glance at the torn pieces of paper which littered the carpet at his feet.
James Grey was terribly provoked. He had "shown his hand," so to speak, and gained nothing by it. If his nephew's story was true, the dreaded paper was still in existence, and likely to be guarded more carefully than ever. Gilbert's calmness was a strong indication of the correctness of his story. Were the real paper destroyed, he could not help showing agitation.
"Do you mean to say that you have another paper than this?" he demanded.
"I do," said our hero.
"You must show me that, or I shall not believe you have it."