But she knew the Twins far too well to ask them for an explanation of it before him.

None the less it clung to her mind.
At supper therefore she said: "What did Sir James mean by calling you a blackmailer, Erebus ?" The Terror knew from her tone that she was resolved to have the explanation; and he said suavely: "Oh, it was about the fishing." "How--about the fishing ?" said Mrs.Dangerfield quickly.
"Well, he didn't want to give us leave.

In fact he never answered our letter asking for it," said the Terror.
"And of course we couldn't stand that; and we had to make him," said Erebus sternly.
"Make him?
How did you make him ?" said Mrs.Dangerfield.
The Terror told her.
Mrs.Dangerfield looked surprised and annoyed, but much less surprised and annoyed than the ordinary mother would have looked on learning that her offspring had blackmailed a complete stranger.

She felt chiefly annoyed by the fact that the complete stranger they had chosen to blackmail should be Sir James.
"Then you did blackmail him," she said in a tone of dismay.
"He seemed to think that we were--like the Douglases used to," said the Terror in an amiable tone.
"But surely you knew that blackmailing is very wrong--very wrong, indeed," said Mrs.Dangerfield.
"Well, he _did_ seem to think so," said the Terror.

"But we thought he was prejudiced; and we didn't take much notice of him." "And we couldn't possibly let him take no notice of our letter, Mum--it was such a polite letter--and not take it out of him," said Erebus.
"And it hasn't done any harm, you know.