ARTHUR
77

"'The next morning at the breakfast table, ' the old man continued, 'I told him about yesterday's incident, and asked my son how Welbeck had delivered the news about the disappearance of his ship. as a rich man, he had to bear such a trivial loss. But there was something very strange in his behavior," said my son, "when I mentioned the name of the captain who carried the letters; and, when I mentioned the captain's plan to visit him, he said, he looked at me, for a moment, as if he was frightened, and then, grabbing his hat, ran out of the house furiously.that was all my son said on the occasion; but, as I have heard since then, it was on that night that Welbeck escaped from his creditors.'

"I got this moment back from this interview with old Thetford. I'm coming to you, because I think maybe Mervyn, in accordance with your expectations, has returned, and I'd like to see the boy once again. My suspicions with respect to him have been confirmed, and a warrant was issued today to arrest him as an accomplice to Welbeck."

I was surprised by this news. "My friend," I said, "be careful with your actions, I beg you. You don't know in what crimes you might involve innocent people. Mervyn I know is innocent; but Welbeck is a criminal. The latter I will not pity to see him brought to justice; but the former, instead of deserving punishment, deserves a reward."

So you believe , just by the boy's statement, perhaps, his sensible lie can produce the same effect on me; but I must stay until he thinks it is appropriate to use his skill.avoidable; but I must stay until he thinks it is appropriate to use his skill; but, if he had something to say in his defense, his trial would give him a suitable opportunity. Why are you so afraid to test his innocence? Only after you heard his story, your own story of suspicion has been removed. Allow me the same privilege of not believing.

"But you're wrong, in assuming I'm the cause of his fear. This was the work of Jamieson and Thetford, and they did not proceed with the alleged shadow and sheer impulse of revenge. Facts have been revealed that you are completely unaware of, and which, when known to you, will defeat even your distrust of Mervyn's guilt."

"Fact? Tell me, please. If Mervyn had deceived me, my belief in human nature would have come to an end. All limits to concealment, and all distinctions between evil and virtue, will be removed. No human words, nor the strength of proof of assurance, will weigh with me a strand of hair."

"It's time," my friend replied, "your belief in subtle features and eloquent accents should be long over. Until I acquired from my profession now some knowledge of the world, knowledge which was not acquired in an instant, and did not cost me the slightest, I was as wise as my own pride; and, and, to decide the truth of anyone's pretense, it only takes a clear view of his face and a clear hearing of his words.respect, only to be healed, however, by my own experience, is necessary, and I guess your trust won't result in another cure. This is a fact:

"In due course, and after the woman's mind was well prepared by Welbeck, the disciple appeared; and, in a conversation filled with learned ambiguity, convinced the woman that her nephew was dead. For the time being he refused to tell the details of his death, and showed his firmness and courage in rejecting his plea that would be admirable for a better cause. Before he had time to grasp this painful mystery, Welbeck's deception was in danger of being detected, and he and his student suddenly disappeared.

“While the plot is underway, there are incidents that were not foreseen or prevented by the plotters, and which may have created confusion or obstacles in their design. A parcel was found one night on the street, consisting of some rough clothes, and in the middle was a mini portrait of Mrs Wentworth's niece. It fell into the hands of one of the lady's friends, who immediately sent the parcel to her. Mervyn, in an interview with this woman, spied on a portrait on a fireplace shelf. Led by some freak, or some wit, he introduces the talk of his nephew, boldly claiming it as his own; but, when the mode in which it is found is mentioned, he is confused and confused, but, and quickly withdraw.

"This behavior, and the subsequent flight of the boy, are reasonable enough to question the truth of his intelligence in respect of his nephew; but have since been refuted, it is reasonable, in a letter he had just received from his brother in England. In this letter, he is informed that his nephew has been seen by a person who knew him well, in Charleston; that some relationship took place between the young man and the news bearer, who was not involved, where the latter had persuaded his nephew to return to his family, and that the youth had given some sign of obedience.The letter writer, who was the father of the fugitive, had written to certain friends in Charleston, Charleston, begging them to use their influence with the escapees for the same purpose, and, however, to appreciate and protect him. So, I hope you'll admit that Mervyn's falsehood has been pointed out."

"The facts that you have mentioned," I said, after a while, "partly correspond to the story of Mervyn; but the latter is very disgusting. Now, for the first time, I started to feel that my confidence was shaken. I feel my mind is confused and distracted by the many new discoveries that have just taken place. I want time to rotate it slowly, weigh it accurately, and fully estimate the consequences. I'm afraid to speak up; afraid that, in the matter of my mind, I might say something I might later regret, I want a counselor, but you, Wortley, are unfit for the office. Your judgment is not furnished with the same material; your suffering has deteriorated your humanity and your bias of directness. The only one qualified to share this attention with me, and help in choosing the best course of action, was my wife. She was the mistress in Mervyn's history; an observer of her behavior during her stay with us; and was hindered, by her education and her time by, from straying to rigidity and malice. Will you forgive me, therefore, if I delay commenting on your narrative until I have had the opportunity to review it and compare it to my knowledge of the child, collected from himself and from my own observations?"

Wortley could not help but acknowledge the fairness of my request, and, after some erratic conversations, we parted ways. I immediately relayed to my wife the various intelligences I have received lately. Portrait Mrs. Althorpe's account of Mervyn contains a straightness which Arthur's summary details do not allow us to understand fully. The treatment that the young man had said had been given to his father; the illicit trade that took place between him and his father's wife; the plundering of his father's money and horses, but did not correspond to the story we had heard, and alarmed our minds with doubt, though far from dictating our beliefs.

However, what caught our attention even more was the testimony of Williams and Mrs. Wentworth. What Wortley and Watson's friends and family find mysterious and incomprehensible is a light for us. The coincidence between the cryptic clues painstakingly gathered by these questioners, and the Mervyn narrative, provides the most convincing confirmation of the narrative's truth.