"But you have no necessity to associate with such men."
"They are useful sometimes; even the man Hoffman has given me good information."
"If he is such a man as you describe, I should be ashamed to be seen with him. How dare he write to me?" she said, angrily.
"It was a gross piece of impertinence," replied Warren, "for which he shall pay dearly. Leave me to deal with him, Irene."
"He ought to be thrashed," she said.
"He shall be, and he will not forget it as long as he lives. You were very foolish to send the money."
"The Squire said the letter ought to have been handed over to the police."
"It was a blessing it was not," thought Warren.
It was a rapid thaw, and at the end of the week not a vestige of snow was to be seen, except in some shaded corner where the sunlight never crept in, and where the overhanging cavern kept off the dripping water.
Warren Courtly rode over to Hazelwell, and did not receive a very hearty greeting from Redmond Maynard.