"And you have come to levy black-mail upon me," added the captain, with a withering stare at his visitor.
"Nothing of the sort, sir. I claim to be a gentleman."
"I do, sir. I am not capable of anything derogatory to the character of a gentleman."
"Bugs and brickbats!" roared the strange man, with another outburst of laughter. "You are a gentleman! That's good! And you won't do anything derogatory to the character of a gentleman. That's good, too!"
"I trust I have the instincts of a gentleman," added Laud, smoothing down his jet mustache.
"I trust you have; but what do you want of me, if you have the instincts of a gentleman, and don't bleed men with money when you think you have them on the hip?"
"If you will honor me with your attention a few moments, I will inform you what I want of you."
"Good again!" chuckled the captain. "I will honor you with my attention. You have got cheek enough to fit out a life insurance agency."
"I am not the only one who saw you that Saturday morning," said Laud.
"The young hypocrite!" exclaimed the strange man, with an oath. "I made it a rule years ago never to trust a man or a boy who has much to do with churches and Sunday Schools. The little snivelling puppy! And he has gone back on me."
"It is only necessary for me to state facts," answered Laud. "You can form your own conclusions, without any help from me."
"Perhaps I can," added Captain Shivernock, who seemed to be in an unusual humor on this occasion, for the pretentious manners of his visitor appeared to amuse rather than irritate him.
"Again, sir, Jacob Hasbrook, of Lincolnville, believes you are the man who pounded him to a jelly that night," continued Laud.
"Does he?" laughed the captain. "Well, that is a good joke; but I want to say that I respect the man who did it, whoever he is."
"Self-respect is a gentlemanly quality. The man who don't respect himself will not be respected by others," said Laud, stroking his chin.
Laud confidently repeated the proposition.
"You respect yourself, and of course you respect the man that pounded Hasbrook," he added.
"Do you mean to say I flogged Hasbrook?" demanded the strange man, doubling his fist, and shaking it savagely in Laud's face.
"It isn't for me to say that you did, for you know better than I do; but you will pardon me if I say that the evidence points in this direction. Hasbrook has been over to Belfast several times to work up his case. The last time I saw him he was looking for Don John, who, I am afraid, is rather leaky."