Thereupon Mr Armstrong gave his new ally a faithful account of the family difficulty: of Captain Oliphant’s embarrassing relations to the claimant, of Miss Rosalind’s dilemma, of Roger’s quixotic determination to find his lost brother, and of his own—the tutor’s—conviction of the hopelessness of the quest.
The visitor by no means shared the last conclusion.
“I rather calculate that lost young man ain’t as dead as you think,” said he. “By all accounts he wasn’t born to be drowned, and he’s not hung yet. You bet, the young brother will come up with him before time’s called.”
“Well, by the last accounts he seems to have a vague clue as to his whereabouts fifteen years ago,” said the tutor; “we shall hear what he makes of it. To-morrow you must come up to Maxfield and see my co-trustee.”
The presence of this unexpected friend of the family, in the capacity of impartial umpire, struck the tutor as particularly opportune at this juncture. He had been a witness to Ratman’s virtual admission to his imposture, and his natural interest in the discovery of his own nephew was not likely to warp his determination to see fair play for Roger.
Captain Oliphant, when he heard next morning of the new arrival, by no means shared his co-trustee’s satisfaction. The news, indeed, agitated him to a remarkable degree, and he astonished the tutor by his ill-concealed reluctance to meet him.
“It is important that you should see him,” remarked the tutor. “As the uncle of the lost elder brother he is entitled, I think, to our confidence. I can imagine no reason why you should be afraid to see him.”
“Afraid! Who says I am afraid to see him?”
“I can think of no other explanation of your reluctance—”
“Please, sir, Mr Headland to see you,” announced Raffles.