"
"Very likely, sir. But neither the loss of my dollars, nor Lord
Rufford's slight vexation will in the least disturb my rest. I'm not
a rich man, sir, but I should like to watch the way in which such a
question will be tried and brought to a conclusion in this
aristocratic country. I don't quite know what your laws may be,
Mr. Mainwaring."
"Just the same as your own, Mr. Gotobed, I take it"
"We have no game laws, sir. As I was saying I don't understand your
laws, but justice is the same everywhere. If this great lord's game
has eaten up the poor man's wheat the great lord ought to pay for
it."
"The owners of game pay for the damage they do three times over,"
said the parson, who was very strongly on that side of the
question. "Do you think that such men as Goarly would be better off
if the gentry were never to come into the country at all?"
"Perhaps, Mr. Mainwaring, I may think that there would be no
Goarlys if there were no Ruffords. That, however, is a great
question which cannot be argued on this case. All we can hope here
is that one poor man may have an act of justice done him though in
seeking for it he has to struggle against so wealthy a magnate as
Lord Rufford."
"What I hope is that he may be found out," replied Mr. Mainwaring
with equal enthusiasm, "and then he will be in Rufford gaol before
long.
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