'You set your dog on me, and you tried to make me believe you were
saving me from it. And you would have taken my half-sovereign. Such
conduct is most--No--you shall tell me what it is, sir, and speak the
truth.'

So I had to say it was most ungentlemanly, but I said I hadn't been
going to take the half-sovereign.

'Then what did you do it for?' he asked. 'The truth, mind.'

So I said, 'I see now it was very silly, and Dora said it was wrong, but
it didn't seem so till we did it. We wanted to restore the fallen
fortunes of our house, and in the books if you rescue an old gentleman
from deadly peril, he brings you up as his own son--or if you prefer to
be your father's son, he starts you in business, so that you end in
wealthy affluence; and there wasn't any deadly peril, so we made Pincher
into one--and so--' I was so ashamed I couldn't go on, for it did seem
an awfully mean thing. Lord Tottenham said--

'A very nice way to make your fortune--by deceit and trickery. I have a
horror of dogs. If I'd been a weak man the shock might have killed me.
What do you think of yourselves, eh?'

We were all crying except Oswald, and the others say he was; and Lord
Tottenham went on--'Well, well, I see you're sorry. Let this be a
lesson to you; and we'll say no more about it. I'm an old man now, but
I was young once.'

Then Alice slid along the bench close to him, and put her hand on his