Do you understand me?"
"I understand you, sir," said Lee. "But I'm afear'd."
"What are you afraid of?" said Frank, laughing.
"Why, if you'll excuse me, sir, that you'll only get laughed at."
"That all!" said Frank. "Laughter breaks no bones. What are these men
that we are going to see?"
"Why, one," said Lee, "is a young Jimmy (I beg your pardon, sir, an
emigrant), the other two are old prisoners. Now, see here. These
prisoners hate the sight of a parson above all mortal men. And, for
why? Because, when they're in prison, all their indulgences, and half
their hopes of liberty, depend on how far they can manage to humbug the
chaplain with false piety. And so, when they are free again, they hate him
worse than any man. I am an old prisoner myself, and I know it."
"Have you been a prisoner, then?" said Frank, surprised.
"I was transported, sir, for poaching."
"That all!" said Frank. "Then, you were the victim of a villanous old
law. Do you know," he added, laughing, "that I rather believe I have
earned transportation myself? I have a horrible schoolboy recollection
of a hare who would squeak in my pocket, and of a keeper passing
within ten yards of where I lay hidden.
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