When George observed that the Dartmoor property had just occurred to his memory, he intended perhaps to say he had thought of little else during the last two years. He had almost succeeded in believing that his disposal of the furniture had come perilously near actual dishonesty; by which he meant to imply his action had been unbusinesslike and foolish; though he had the satisfaction of knowing that Nellie had been justly punished for her offences. He had planned to sell, or to let, Windward House immediately; but had reckoned without his cowardly nature, which conjured up visions of all manner of people seeking vengeance against him. Bessie and Robert would be clamouring for his arrest; Kezia might have taken her scraps of paper to some solicitor; Nellie might have placed the matter in the hands of Hunter; the dreary Dyer might be forced to bring an action for conspiracy to clear his own mean character. George had been so terrified by these fancies that, for several months, he hardly dared to stir from his lodgings, and could not look a policeman in the face.
But now that two years had passed, and nobody had tapped him on the shoulder, he decided it would be perfectly safe to emerge from his obscurity to the extent of communicating with a land agent in Exeter, which city was a satisfactory distance from Highfield, and instructing him to offer the property for sale by public auction or, should an opportunity arise, to dispose of it at once by private treaty. For sake of convenience George requested that letters should be addressed to him at a certain post office, as he still thought it advisable to protect the sanctity of his private residence.
The land agent replied that a sale by auction was generally the most lucrative manner of disposing of a property, and suggested the despatch of a clerk skilled in valuation to inspect the premises. He mentioned also that applications for houses in the Highfield district reached his office continually, and he would be pleased to issue orders to view the property which by the description appeared a valuable one.
George agreed to everything, but was inclined to lay stress upon the private sale if possible, as he did not wish the local inhabitants to know that the ownership of the house was about to change hands. Included in the sale, he mentioned, would be a giant tortoise--or the animal might be offered separately--more than half a thousand years old. This reptile, which would appeal alike to animal lovers and to antiquarians, was a fixture with the garden, above which it browsed one half of the year, and below which it slept for the other half.