"
"Which? Twice is double as often as once, you know."
"Twice."
"No more?"
"Not that I recollect."
"You wrote to her?"
"I may have."
"Did you, or did you not?"
"I did."
"What was the purport of that letter?"
"I can't recollect at this distance of time."
"On your oath, sir, did you not write urging her to co-operate with you
to keep Sir Charles Bassett from marrying his affianced, Miss Bella
Bruce, to whom that anonymous letter was written with the same object?"
The perspiration now rolled in visible drops down the tortured liar's
face. Yet still, by a gigantic effort, he stood firm, and even planted
a blow.
"I did not write the anonymous letter. But I believe I told Miss
Somerset I loved Miss Bruce, and that _her_ lover was robbing me of
mine, as he had robbed me of everything else."
"And that was all you said--on your oath?"
"All I can recollect." With this the strong man, cowed, terrified,
expecting his letter to Somerset to be produced, and so the iron chain
of evidence completed, gasped out, "Man, you tear open all my wounds at
once!" and with this burst out sobbing, and lamenting aloud that he had
ever been born.
Counsel waited calmly till he should be in a condition to receive
another dose.
"Oh, will nobody stop this cruel trial?" said Lady Bassett, with the
tears trickling down her face.
Pages:
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154