I have a copy of both these letters here," added
the man in the corner, as he took out a piece of paper from a very
worn-out pocket-book, and, unfolding it very deliberately, he began to
read:--
"'Sir,--Your preposterous demands for money are wholly unwarrantable. I
have already helped you quite as much as you deserve. However, for the
sake of old times, and because you once helped me when I was in a
terrible difficulty, I am willing to once more let you impose upon my
good nature. A friend of mine here, a Russian merchant, to whom I have
sold my business, starts in a few days for an extended tour to many
European and Asiatic ports in his yacht, and has invited me to accompany
him as far as England. Being tired of foreign parts, and desirous of
seeing the old country once again after thirty years' absence, I have
decided to accept his invitation. I don't know when we may actually be
in Europe, but I promise you that as soon as we touch a suitable port I
will write to you again, making an appointment for you to see me in
London. But remember that if your demands are too preposterous I will
not for a moment listen to them, and that I am the last man in the world
to submit to persistent and unwarrantable blackmail.
'I am, sir,
'Yours truly,
'Francis Smethurst.
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