If I'm not mistaken, an action for defamation of character would lie against half-a-dozen of them.' Mutimer was unfortunately deficient in sense of humour.

He continued to scowl, and merely said: 'Go on; what happened ?' Mr.Keene allowed the evening's proceedings to lose nothing in his narration.

He was successful in exciting his hearer to wrath, but, to his consternation, it was forthwith turned against himself.
'And you tried to make things better by going about telling what several of them would know perfectly well to be lies ?' exclaimed Mutimer, savagely.

'Who the devil gave you authority to do so ?' 'My dear sir,' protested the journalist, 'you have quite mistaken me.
I did not mean to admit that I had told lies.

How could I for a moment suppose that a man of your character would sanction that kind of thing?
Pooh, I hope I know you better! No, no; I merely in the course of conversation ventured to hint that, as you yourself had explained to me, there were reasons quite other than the vulgar mind would conceive for--for the course you had pursued.