He will never be caught. Anything else, my dear?"
"Yes, I said to George that we would buy Josiah's freedom--what amuses
you, James?" He was smiling.
"Oh, the idea of buying a man's power to go and come, when he has
been his own master for years. You were right, but it seems that you
failed--or, so I infer."
"Yes. He said Mr. Woodburn was still angry and always had considered
Josiah wickedly ungrateful." Penhallow looked at his wife. Her sense of
the comedies of life was sometimes beyond his comprehension, but now--now
was she not a little bit, half consciously, of the defrauded master's
opinion?
"And so, when that failed, you went to bank and drew out the poor
fellow's savings?" He meant to hear the whole story. There was worse yet,
and he was sure she would speak of it. But now she was her courageous
self and desired to confess her share in the matter. "Of course, he had
to have money, Ann."
She wanted to get through with this, the most unpleasant part of the
matter. "I want to tell you," she said. "I drew out his money with a
cheque John made out and Josiah signed. John took him his two hundred
dollars, as he knew where Josiah would hide--I--I did not want to know."
Her large part in this perilous business began to trouble the Squire. His
face had long been to her an open book, and she saw in his silence the
man's annoyance.
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