The lawyer ceased to read, and the amazed look with which he glanced at the face of Admiral Bell would, under any other circumstances, have much amused him. His mind, however, was by far too much engrossed with a consideration of the danger of Charles Holland, his nephew, to be amused at anything; so, when he found that the little lawyer said nothing, he bellowed out,—
"Well, sir?"
"We—we—well," said the attorney.
"I've sent for you, and here you are, and here I am, and here's Jack Pringle. What have you got to say?"
"Just this much," said Mr. Crinkles, recovering himself a little, "just this much, sir, that I never saw that letter before in all my life."
"You—never—saw—it?"
"Never."
"Didn't you write it?"
"On my solemn word of honour, sir, I did not."
Jack Pringle whistled, and the admiral looked puzzled. Like the admiral in the song, too, he "grew paler," and then Mr. Crinkles added,—