Will you grovel on in poverty--the worst
of all poverty, the gentleman's pittance? or will you make yourself
possessor of the wealth which your uncle Oswald bequeathed to others?
Look me in the face, Reginald, as you are a man, and answer me, Which
is it to be--wealth or poverty?"
"It is too late to answer poverty," replied the baronet, in a gloomy
and sullen tone. "You cannot bring my uncle back to life; you cannot
undo your work."
"I do not pretend to bring the dead to life. I am not talking of the
past--I am talking of the future."
"Suppose I say that I will endure poverty rather than plunge deeper
into the pit you have dug--what then?"
"In that case, I will bid you good speed, and leave you to your poverty
and--a clear conscience," answered Victor, coolly. "I am a poor man
myself; but I like my friends to be rich. If you do not care to grasp
the wealth which might be yours, neither do I care to preserve our
acquaintance. So we have merely to bid each other good night, and part
company."
There was a pause--Reginald Eversleigh sat with his arms folded, his
eyes fixed on the fire. Victor watched him with a sinister smile upon
his face.
"And if I choose to go on," said Reginald, at last; "if I choose to
tread farther on the dark road which I have trodden so long--what then?
Can you ensure me success, Victor Carrington?"
"I can," replied the Frenchman.
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