So far, all was peace.

But with the profligate habits of a man like Bent Pitman (who was no doubt a hunchback in the bargain), eight hundred pounds could be easily melted in a week.

When they were gone, what would he be likely to do next?
A hell-like voice in Morris's own bosom gave the answer: 'Blackmail me.' Anxiety the Second: The Fraud of the Tontine; or, Is my Uncle dead?
This, on which all Morris's hopes depended, was yet a question.

He had tried to bully Teena; he had tried to bribe her; and nothing came of it.

He had his moral conviction still; but you cannot blackmail a sharp lawyer on a moral conviction.