You seem to forget that my wife was tried and acquitted by
twelve of her fellow-countrymen. You will at least apologize for that
forgetfulness before you leave this room."
"Never!"
Steel looked at his watch and sat down. "I begin to fear you are no
judge of character, Mrs. Venables; otherwise you would have seen ere
this which of us will have to give in sooner or later. I can only tell
you which of us never will!"
And Rachel still stood by without a word.
CHAPTER XVII
FRIENDS IN NEED
That afternoon the Vicar of Marley was paying house-to-house visits
among his humbler parishioners. Though his conversation was the weak
point to which attention has been drawn, Hugh Woodgate nevertheless
possessed the not too common knack of chatting with the poor. He had the
simplicity which made them kin, and his sympathy, unlike that of so many
persons who consider themselves sympathetic, was not exclusively
reserved for the death-bed and the ruined home. He wrote letters for the
illiterate, found places for the unemployed, knew one baby from another
as soon as their own mothers, and with his own hand sent to the local
papers full reports of the village matches in which he rarely scored a
run.
Pages:
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216