ABSTRACT

It was now my duty to follow up the information derived from Percy; but I was at the same time anxious not to let him know any thing of my movements, for fear of alarming his honourable prejudices. I had a strong wish to recover the poor fellow’s money for him; but I was much afraid that, from such a gang of miscreants, nothing could ever be obtained, even with justice and the law on our side. In the case of the cheques it would be impossible to do any thing, as they had been given under such peculiar circumstances, and as no process whatever could be raised without his own instructions, which I was almost certain he would not consent to give. I had no patience with this sort of punctilio, 171 and could have wished all the absurdities of the code of honour pitched to purgatory. It was necessary for me, however, to do what my duty required in bringing the delinquents to justice, whether or not it was to be of any benefit to Percy.