The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900 ... - Gredos

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
Simon's men had been threshing that day, but now work was over, and the barn was
empty of all save the master. He was gazing about him pensively enough when Mr.
Renshaw entered.
“I have seen the Squire," began the lawyer, looking round with a cautious glance, and
button-holing his young friend. “I have seen him, and told him that you are ready to
advance the money. I just mentioned incidentally that your cousin had incautiously let
drop that he was lending money on mortgage on the Charnleigh estate. The Squire
frowned, I promise you, Simon, and banged the table with his fist —‘I’ll be bound,
Renshaw,' says he, ‘Fleetwood has been running down the property — letting out that at
this moment it is not in a profitable condition. Hang it, sir,' says he, ‘I believe that
fellow Fleetwood was the cause of Gifford's throwing up the affair.' "
"Well," interrupted Simon impatiently, “there was your opportunity. Did you not seize
it?"
The old man looked at him somewhat shamefacedly.
"Upon my soul, Fleetwood, when the Squire's in that mood I do not like to argue with
him. He is an unreasonable man, and never can be got to see matters in the right light,
and, my dear lad, I must own to you that I think your share in this affair looks peculiar,
very
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peculiar indeed. It is, I may say, incomprehensible to me. Well," he pursued, “Mr.
Charnock next asked me if I imagined you had any ulterior motive in putting a spoke in
this wheel of his. Did you think, forsooth, to get any of his land into your hands — I
vow the language he used then made my very hair stand on end. Or could you merely
have interfered from paltry jealousy of your cousin, with whom, it is said, you had ever
been on unfriendly terms — or, in short, what could have been your motive? I told him
— what I tell you now, lad -that, upon my word, your motive is a mystery to me. I
added, however, that you had made a very fair — indeed, a most extraordinarily
generous —offer, and that I should think him a fool — I believe I put the matter a little
more respectfully, but the sense was the same — if he did not accept it. After a pause he