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"Charles Priminheere has been here, brother" “The devil he has !" exclaimed the other.

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"Brother, you are not accustomed to swear,' the astonished girl; "something most strange has happened to you, and if you will not hear me, your life will shortly be in danger. Priminheere has been here to caution you against his brother, and he says that you must set off for London instantly. The horse is ready now by my orders. Come, now, do take advice.

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"But what reason? why, Mary?" cried Mortimer, half suspecting the truth, notwithstanding the enlivening effects of the potions he had swallowed.

Mr. Priminheere gave no reason.

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"Then," said Mortimer, "it's a hoax altogether. Do you know, Mary, that I have been a prey during the whole of this day to fancies of every sort? Charles Priminheere has been here for some other purpose.

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The smile with which her brother accompanied these words, both mortified and offended Mary Mortimer. "Brother," said she, struggling with vexation and terror, "I can tell you that this is no trifling matter; you have not been used to treat me in this slighting

manner.

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"And God forbid that I ever should!" said he, kissing her affectionately; "but this is a mere vagary, an unreal mockery.""

"Have you done nothing to be afraid of?" said the unsuspecting girl.

"No, nothing.'

Mortimer still throve under the supernatural influence of liquor.

"Nothing?" said she, fixing an inquiring eye upon

him.

"Nothing," again repeated her brother. "Then I am content, "said Mary.

"That is to say, nothing which can affect you my dear." "You spoil your former assurance by that qualification," said Miss Mortimer.

"I have been a loser at Newmarket to some extent, and I have found some difficulty in paying off the mortgage," observed he, with apparent indifference, but, in fact, no longer able to quell the clamours of his conscience.

"You have paid it honestly?"

"How can you question it?" said he.

"Have you indeed paid it?" she again inquired with

earnestness.

"I have," said he, with a tone which imparted conviction.

"My mother has often said that she had a small fund, which, in case of distress, that is, extreme distress, she intended to place at your disposal."

"Then," said Mortimer, "let her keep it sacred for her own comfort. Don't mention it to me again; I might be tempted; I am too weak to bear such an offer."

"Why, there is no extreme distress at present," said Mary.

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"Only that I have scarcely a shilling left in the world." "Oh, Roger!" exclaimed the girl, you may indeed be afraid of James Priminheere. Alas! that you should ever have been led away to the gaming-table.

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"I have not mentioned the gaming-table, Mary," said Roger Mortimer..

"But I know that you have been there, and I am fearful that you have involved yourself," said his sister. Every debt is paid, poor as I am, Mary,"

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"Then it is not yet too late, brother; for the remnant which we have left will be sufficient."

"Byrdwood must be given up," said Mortimer, with an anxious eye.

"I am content, and I am sure that my mother will not repine; only abandon this awful practice of gambling, and all will yet be well."

Mortimer was staggered by this appeal: he had firmly resolved upon devoting himself to the dice till they should redeem his influence and his fortunes.

"Ab

"A ruined man never plays with success," said Mary, laying hold on her brother's arm with energy. stain, Roger, I beg of you; for the sake of all that you love, be determined, and never cast another dice."

Mortimer appeared very thoughtful, and returned

no answer.

"Even if no harm should result from this warning,' continued his sister, 66 you will promise to shun the gaming-table for the future."

"It will rescue me from trouble, and my family from poverty," said Mortimer.

"Never, never!" replied his sister, with increased

perseverance; "be content to partake of the little which Providence has yet left within our reach. Promise me that you will never more play at a game of chance."

The earnest entreaty of his sister, whom he loved with the truest affection, operated powerfully upon the mind of a youth whose disposition was by no means irredeemable; he paused, but dared not give his word. He had denied the commission of crime in the very teeth of his forgery, but he could not add a fault which the emergency of the moment did not absolutely demand. Like many gamesters, he would gladly have withdrawn himself from the tempting scene, but for the losses he had endured. Let him but retrieve these, and he would retire for ever. Whilst he was balancing these considerations, against the renewed persuasions of his wise and well-disciplined sister, a loud and unaccustomed ringing at the gate attracted the attention of both. The summons was like one of authority, and the unceasing peal seemed to command a speedy obedience. There was a suddenness in the event, which caused a dull paleness to overspread the cheek of Mortimer; and his sister, too, faithfully remembering the prophetic words of Charles Priminheere, sunk back upon a chair, and watched the coming footstep with a thrill of horror.

It

But before we disclose the occasion of this mysterious incident, we must go back for a few hours in order to explain the cause of Charles Priminheere's uneasiness, and of his brother's strange carriage to Mortimer. will be recollected that the latter returned to his home discontented and even uneasy after the settlement of accounts between himself and Mortimer. The compulsion he felt in giving up the deed of assignment, the escape which his neighbour had evidently enjoyed, the acute remarks of Mr. Soland, the independent bearing of Mortimer himself, had incensed him in no moderate degree, and he might be said now to cherish grudge upon grudge against the possessor of the Byrdwood property which he coveted. His claim upon that estate had been met by a check which was duly paid, and the bundle of notes so frequently alluded to. Priminheere carried the notes to his country banking-house in a neighbouring town after the lapse of a few days, and they had been imitated with sufficient cleverness to elude the cursory observation of the clerk who received them. Thus far Morti

mer had prospered, but an after-reckoning was at hand. The greater part of the notes were sent immediately to the Bank in London, and the well-tutored inspector of that establishment at once pronounced them to be forgeries, and, moreover, declared them to be the manufacture of a dangerous gang. The false paper was detained, accordingly, in the metropolis, and orders were given to discover some clue, without loss of time, to the perpetrator of the offence. It was, of course, soon ascertained that the notes had been paid in by James Priminheere to the house of the country-bank, and he was requested to communicate the name of the person from whom he had received them. The very mention of a forgery at first terrified the apostate Calvinist, and it was not until the particular nature of the transaction had been carefully and repeatedly explained, that he sufficiently recovered from his surprise to give an account of the transaction. By the aid, however, of the lawyers, Dell and Head, who were sent for, he not only cleared himself of any guilty participation in an affair so formidable, but even drew considerable compassion upon his own case, in consequence of the obviously severe loss to which he was subjected. His innocence appeared so plain upon this occasion, that he obtained a complete triumph, and the result was to excite his spirit, which - had been agitated by the fearful name of forgery, against the ill-fated Mortimer, whose connexion with these engines of fraud could be established beyond the chance of refutation. It were well for Mortimer if he could shift upon a third party the burden which Priminheere had thus been successful enough to rid himself of, at least as far as personal danger was concerned. The latter had sufficient discernment to know that his enemy was now in his power; for even if he should be unable to bring home the crime of forgery, he was in a condition to demand five thousand pounds more for the redemption of Byrdwood. Priminheere had reason to believe that the owner of this property could not, under any circumstances, command so large a sum, and hence he counted himself once more to be secure of the advantage he had so long endeavoured to attain. It was proposed that Mortimer should be sent for, or that a person connected with the Bank should see him upon the subject, and form a judgment of his guilt or otherwise, accord

ing to the explanation which he might be disposed to give. This was a reasonable proceeding, especially towards a landed proprietor of Mr. Mortimer's respectability and standing in the county; and, beyond doubt, had it been suggested in the first instance, Priminheere would have gladly assented. But now that he had been able to rally, and to discover his true position respecting the affair in question, he assumed a higher tone, and urged the immediate apprehension of Mortimer. He represented that the act which had taken place, was the common resource of a disappointed gamester; that if notice were given to the accused, he would probably fly, and elude the hands of justice. He said that Mortimer had borne a suspicious character for many years; that his estate had been deeply encumbered, and himself embarrassed, and that he would prosecute him in this instance upon his own responsibility. Great attention was paid to these statements, made plausibly, and with seeming impartiality; but the proposition of sending officers to Byrdwood was at first received with great surprise, and it was intimated to Priminheere, that too much caution could not be used in taking such a step. He insisted and remonstrated, and, notwithstanding the difficulties which his brother Charles from time to time interposed, he ultimately persuaded the men in authority that the arrest might not only be made with safety, but that such a course would be praiseworthy, and even indispensable. This resolution being taken, it was arranged that an officer from London should be sent for, and that the warrant should be placed in his hands, jointly with a constable of the neighbourhood. However, no sooner had Charles Priminheere learned this determination, than he hurried to Byrdwood, and urged the escape of Mortimer with the earnestness which we have described. For, to say nothing of his attachment to Mary Mortimer, he believed it impossible that her brother could be guilty of forgery, and condemned the proceeding which had been taken, as harsh and unjustifiable. When James Priminheere met Mortimer, as we have related, the officer was hourly expected; and the reader may possibly havé guessed, by this time, the occasion of the loud ringing at Byrdwood gate, an event, however, which we shall ourselves explain in the next Chapter.

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