Raffles, with considerable commotion, came from his seat and proceeded to restore it to its lost estate.
Mr Pottinger took his glasses from his nose and regarded the performance with such abject distress, that Roger, catching sight of his face, involuntarily smiled.

"Really," exclaimed the now thoroughly offended friend of the family, "really, my boy, on an occasion such as this--" Here the Rector, to every one's relief, came gallantly to the rescue.
"This is very tedious, Mr Pottinger," said he.

"The friends here, I am sure, will prefer that you should omit all these useless preliminaries, and come to the business at once.

Let me read the document for you; my eyes are younger than yours." At this terrific act of insubordination, and the almost blasphemous suggestion which capped it, the lawyer fell back in his chair and broke out into a profuse perspiration, gazing at the Rector as he would at some suddenly intruding wild animal.

Then, with a gasp, taking in the peril of the whole situation, he hastily took up the will and plunged into it.
It was a long, tedious document, hard to understand; and when it was ended, no one exactly grasped its purport.
Then came the moment of Mr Pottinger's revenge.