master's sake, that he had said as much as he had done to the inspector, and he was also sorry, for his own sake, that he had not said more; for he was uncomfortably conscious that, by his comparative reticence, he had incurred the officer's resentment
"Do you think, sir," he said, as we were parting—and I thought, as he was speaking, how old he seemed and tremulous—"that that Mr.Symonds will hunt me up, and worry me, as he as good as said he would? Because I know that I shan't be able to stand it, if he does; my nerves are not what they were, and I never dreamed that I should have trouble with the police at my time of life."
I endeavoured to reassure him.
"Mr. Morley, be at ease; fear nothing. You are the sole proprietor of your own tongue, use it to preserve silence; no one can force you to speak unless you choose."
I was not by any means so sure of this, in my own mind; but this was a detail. My object was to comfort Mr. Morley.
It was at the door of the house in Arlington Street that we parted; after all, I went with him the whole way—it was practically mine. I waited while he inquired if his master had returned. The face of the old lady who opened the door, and who I immediately concluded was Mrs.
