If he were really as ignorant as he appeared
of the extent of the peril threatening Oliver's good name; if he
had cheated himself during these long years into supposing that
the secret which had undermined his own happiness was an unshared
one, and that his own conduct since that hour he had characterised
as accursed, had given no point to the charges they had just heard
hurled against his son, then he ought to be undeceived and that
right speedily. Evidence did exist connecting Oliver with this
crime; evidence as sure, nay, yet surer, than that raised against
her husband; and no man's laughter, no, not even his father's--
least of all his father's--could cover up the fact or avail
against the revelations which must follow, now that the scent was
on. Honouring as she did the man before her, understanding both
his misery and the courage he displayed in this superhuman effort
to hide his own convictions, she gathered up all her resources,
and with a resolution no less brave than his, said firmly:
"You are too much respected in this town, Judge Ostrander, for any
collection of people, however thoughtless or vile, to so follow
the lead of a lowdown miscreant as to greet you to your face with
these damaging assertions, unless they THOUGHT they had evidence,
and good evidence, too, with which to back these assertions."
It was the hurling of an arrow poisoned at the point; the
launching of a bomb into the very citadel of his security. Had he
burst into outbreak--gripped her again or fiercely shown her the
door, she would not have been astonished.
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