Mr. Prendergast emerges the day following the sports, hung-over and confused as to the previous day's events. Mr. Prendergast does remember, however, a story told him by Philbrick regarding what the butler claims as his true identity. The butler is a ship owner, he tells Prendy, who, after shooting a Portuguese Count in a duel over the outcome of a game of baccarat, seeks penance. The priest who hears his confession tells him to renounce his wealth and live among the lower orders for three years.
This, Grimes chimes in, is not at all like the story Philbrick told him. In the story, Philbrick tells Grimes, he claims he is a novelist, the favored child of a wealthy man with literary preoccupations. When the old man dies, leaving all of his wealth.....
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