“A blow, Sir,” replied Dowler. “Compose your feelings. Sit down. Hear me.”

“Sir,” said Mr. Winkle, trembling from head to foot, “before I consent to sit down beside, or opposite you, without the presence of a waiter, I must be secured by some further understanding. You used a threat against me last night, Sir, a dreadful threat, Sir.” Here Mr. Winkle turned very pale indeed, and stopped short.

“I did,” said Dowler, with a countenance almost as white as Mr. Winkle’s. “Circumstances were suspicious. They have been explained. I respect your bravery. Your feeling is upright. Conscious innocence. There’s my hand. Grasp it.”