It was up to you, and you did not stir!" "Stir!" echoed the other man, exasperated.

"Of course I did not stir.
What did I know about it?
Do you think I care to give a man like Mortimer a hold on me by admitting I knew anything ?--or Belwether--do you think I care to have that man know anything about my private and personal business?
Did you expect me to say that I was in a position to prove anything one way or another?
And," he added with increasing harshness, "how do you know what I might or might not prove?
If she went to the Patroons Club, I did not go with her; I did not see her; I don't know whether or not you took her." "I have already told you that I did not take her," said Siward, turning whiter.
"You told that to the governors, too.

Tell them again, if you like.

I decline to discuss this matter with you.

I decline to countenance your unwarranted intrusion into what you pretend to believe are my private affairs.