And
now, as she thought of him, her bitterest pang came from the fact that
if this deed were known, he would suffer all his life from the shame of
it, and, to herself, she said:
"For Burton's sake, I must bear it always, and alone. He must never know
what I know. No one must ever know, and may God forgive me if I am doing
wrong!" And falling upon her knees, with her head upon Rover's neck, the
wretched girl prayed earnestly for grace to know what was right, and
strength to do it.
And He who hears every sincere cry for help, even though His ear may
seem deaf, and the heavens brass, sending back the cry like an unmeaning
sound, gave her the strength needful for the hour, and a feeling of
calmness stole over her, making her quiet, and even fearless of the
stiffened form lying so near her upon the floor.
But when, a few minutes later, her father appeared in the door, with a
candle in his hand, and said to her, "I have done all I can do alone;
you must help me now," the old terror came back, and staggering to her
feet, she asked:
"What do you wish me to do?"
"Help carry him into the next room," her father replied, and then
forgetting Burton, forgetting everything, she burst out again:
"Oh, father, will it not be better to tell the truth, at once? The fact
that you do so will go a long way toward clearing you.
Pages:
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166