"You preserved it then, because it might be of interest; and you did not hand it over because it might not," sneered the Colonel.
"Come! come!" said the King sharply. "We must have a better answer than that, Mr. Mallock."
Then my heart blazed at the injustice.
"Sir," I said, "I am telling the naked truth. If I were a liar and a knave I could make up a very plausible tale, no doubt. But I am not. The naked truth is that I preserved the paper for what it might contain; and then—"
I paused then; for I saw plainly what a very poor defence I had.
"And then—" sneered the Colonel softly.
"If you must have the truth," I said, "I forgot all about it."
Well; it was as I thought. Sir George Jeffreys threw back his head and laughed aloud—(he was a man of extraordinary freedom with the King)—a great grin appeared on the Colonel's face; and His Majesty, as I saw in the shadow beneath his hat, smiled bitterly, showing his white teeth. Even the magistrates chuckled together.
"Ah, sir," said Jeffreys, "for a clever man that is truly a little dull.
You might have done better than that."
Then desperation seized me; and I flung all prudence to the winds.