 first.«
    The eagerness of his thought impelled him to repetitions and emphasis. His
voice fell upon a note of feebleness, and with an effort he recovered the tone
in which he had begun.
    »As soon as I knew that all this wealth had fallen to me I decided at once
to come back to England. What could I do out there? I decided to come to
England, but I couldn't see further ahead than that. I sold all the land; I had
the business done for me by that lawyer I spoke of, that had known my son, and
he recommended me to a Mr. Percival in London. I came back, and I found little
Jane, and then bit by bit I began to understand what my duty was. It got clear
in my mind; I formed a purpose, a plan, and it's as strong in me now as ever.
Let me think again for a little, Sidney. I want to make it as plain to you as it
is to me. You'll understand me best if I go back and tell you more than I have
done yet about my life before I left England. Let me think a while.«
    He was overcome with a fear that he might not be able to convey with
sufficient force the design which had wholly possessed him. So painful was the
struggle in him between enthusiasm and a consciousness of failing faculties,
that Sidney grasped his hand and begged him to speak simply, without effort.
    »Have no fear about my understanding you. We've talked a great deal
together, and I know very well what your strongest motives are. Trust me to
sympathise with you.«
    »I do! If I hadn't that trust, Sidney, I couldn't have felt the joy I did
when you spoke to me of my Jane. You'll help me to carry out my plan; you and
Jane will; you and Jane! I've got to be such an old man all at once, as it
seems, and I dursn't have waited much longer without telling you what I had in
my mind. See now, I'll go back to when I was a boy, as far back as I can
remember. You know I was born in Clerkenwell, and I've told you a little now and
then of the hard times I went through. My poor father and mother came out of the
country, thinking to better themselves; instead of that, they found nothing but
cold and hunger, and toil and moil
