“But I will undertake to go there if—”
“If the coroner invites you, eh?”
“Yes,” replied the boy.
“The slight difficulty about that is that it is I, not you, that am asked to make the undertaking.”
“But you will, won’t you?” asked Jeffreys eagerly.
“I have the peculiarity of being rather particular about the people I give undertakings for,” said Mr Halgrove, flicking a speck of dust off his sleeve; “it may be ridiculous, but I draw the line at homicide.”
“You’re a liar!” exclaimed the ward, in a burst of fury, which, however, he repented of almost before the words had escaped him.
Mr Halgrove was not in the slightest degree disturbed by this undutiful outbreak, but replied coolly,—
“In that case, you see, my undertaking would be worth nothing. No. What do you say to replying to Mr Frampton’s suggestion yourself?”
“I will write and tell him I will go whenever he wants me.”