would swear any thing for five hundred pounds—or for half the money, for that matter. I do not think that the father of mischief ever let loose upon the world a greater rascal than Tom Tozer.
"He declares that nothing shall induce him to take one shilling less than the whole sum of nine hundred pounds. He has been brought to this by hearing that my debts are about to be paid. Heaven help me! The meaning of that is that these wretched acres, which are now mortgaged to one millionaire, are to change hands and be mortgaged to another instead. By this exchange I may possibly obtain the benefit of having a house to live in for the next twelve months, but no other. Tozer, however, is altogether wrong in his scent; and the worst of it is, that, his malice will fall on you rather than on me.
"What I want you to do is this: let us pay him one hundred pounds between us. Though I sell the last sorry jade of a horse I have, I will make up fifty, and I know you can, at any rate, do as much as that. Then do you accept a bill, conjointly with me, for eight hundred. It shall be done in Forrest's presence, and handed to him, and you shall receive back the two old bills into your own hands at the same time. This new bill should be timed to run ninety days, and I will move heaven and earth during that time to have it included in the general schedule of my debts which are to be secured on the Chaldicotes property."
The meaning of which was that Miss Dunstable was to be cozened into paying the money under an idea that it was part of the sum covered by the existing mortgage.
"What you said the other day at Barchester as to never executing another bill is very well as regards future transactions. Nothing can be wiser than such a resolution. But it would be folly—worse than folly—if you were to allow your furniture to be seized when the means of preventing it is so ready to your hand. By leaving the new bill in Forrest's hands you may be sure that you are safe from the claws of such birds of prey as these Tozers. Even if I can not get it settled when the three months are over, Forrest will enable you to make any arrangement that may be most convenient.
"For Heaven's sake, my dear fellow, do not refuse this. You can hardly conceive how it weighs upon me, this fear that bailiffs should make their way into your wife's drawing-room. I know you think ill of me, and I do not wonder at it. But you would be less inclined to do so if you knew how terribly I am punished. Pray let me hear that you will do as I counsel you.
"Yours always faithfully,N. Sowerby."
In answer to which the parson wrote a very short reply:
"Framley, July, 185—."My dear Sowerby,—I will sign no more bills on any consideration.
Yours truly,Mark Robarts."
And then, having written this, and having shown it to his wife, he returned to the shrubbery walk and paced it up and down, looking every now and then at Sowerby's letter
