‘I don’t think at all,’ said he.  ’Since the matter has been discussed the whole thing has come back upon my memory.’

‘I never signed it,’ said Dolly, standing with his hands in his pockets and interrupting his father.

‘Nobody says you did, sir,’ rejoined the father with an angry voice.  ‘If you will condescend to listen we may perhaps arrive at the truth.’

’But somebody has said that I did.  I’ve been told that Mr Bideawhile says so.’

’No, Mr Longestaffe; no.  We have never said so.  We have only said that we had no reason for supposing the letter to be other than genuine.  We have never gone beyond that.’

‘Nothing on earth would have made me sign it,’ said...