"Of course," said Mrs. Agar, "if Jem goes and does things of that description he must take the consequences."
Arthur said nothing in reply to this. The thought had been his for some months, but he had never put it into shape.
"We are perfectly justified," she went on, "in acting as if Jem were dead until he deigns to advise us to the contrary."
This also was putting a long-cherished thought into form.
Arthur knew that he ought to have told his mother then and there that Jem had taken every step in his power to advise him as soon as possible of the falseness of the news transmitted to the newspapers. But something held him silent, some taint of hereditary untruthfulness.
"I do not see," she said, "that this news can, therefore, make much difference. There is no reason to alter any of o
