A door slammed loudly, triumphantly, and a
whip cracked. The crowd had been balked. It was as though the
crowd had yelled for Daniel's blood and bones, and the faithful
constables had saved him from their lust.
Yes, Samuel had qualms. He had a sickness in the stomach.
The aged Superintendent of Police walked by, with the aged Rector.
The Rector was Daniel's friend. Never before had the Rector spoken
to the Nonconformist Samuel, but now he spoke to him; he squeezed
his hand.
"Ah, Mr. Povey!" he ejaculated grievously.
"I--I'm afraid it's serious!" Samuel stammered. He hated to admit
that it was serious, but the words came out of his mouth.
He looked at the Superintendent of Police, expecting the
Superintendent to assure him that it was not serious; but the
Superintendent only raised his small white-bearded chin, saying
nothing. The Rector shook his head, and shook a senile tear out of
his eye.
After another chat with young Lawton, Samuel, on behalf of Daniel,
dropped his pose of the righteous man to whom a mere mishap has
occurred, and who is determined, with the lofty pride of
innocence, to indulge all the whims of the law, to be more
royalist than the king.
Pages:
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393