"Questions? What right have you to question me?"

"It's for your own advantage. You called me scoundrel. What did you
mean by that?"

"That's the name I give to fellows who go bankrupt to get rid of
their debts."

"Is it!" said Dengate, with a superior smile. "That only shows how
little you know of the world, my lad. You got it from your father, I
daresay; he had a rough way of talking."

"A disagreeable habit of telling the truth."

"I know all about it. Your father wasn't a man of business, and
couldn't see things from a business point of view. Now, what I just
want to say to you is this: there's all the difference in the world
between commercial failure and rascality. If you go down to
Liverpool, and ask men of credit for their opinion about Charles
Edward Dengate, you'll have a lesson that would profit you. I can
see you're one of the young chaps who think a precious deal of
themselves; I'm often coming across them nowadays, and I generally
give them a piece of my mind."

Hilliard smiled.

"If you gave them the whole, it would be no great generosity."

"Eh? Yes, I see you've had a glass or two, and it makes you witty.