Part 40 (1/2)

”Will there be a trial?”

”It will be held to-morrow in the hall at the Corner. I am going to put a stop to such attacks and bring the guilty ones to task, if it is at all possible. It is a very strange thing for one family to rule a community like this, persecute innocent men, and drive them from the parish. It is a mystery to me that the people have permitted it for so long.”

”Who will conduct the trial?” Jean enquired.

”Squire Hawkins. He is the only Justice of the Peace here.”

”But he won't dare do anything to Ben. He is frightened almost to death of the Stubbles.”

”I know he is, and for that reason I want your a.s.sistance.”

”What can I do?” Jean asked in surprise.

”You can tell what Ben did to you at Long Wharf. That will prove what a villain he really is. Why, he intended to drown you that night, and he would have succeeded if I had not happened to be present. You can make your sworn statement to Squire Hawkins who can come here, so it will not be necessary for you to go to the trial.”

Jean buried her face in her hands at these words and remained very silent. Douglas watched her for a few minutes, and a deep pity for this unfortunate woman came into his heart.

”Come,” he urged, ”won't you back me up? I have entered into this fight and need all the a.s.sistance I can get. If I am defeated, no one will dare to undertake such a thing again.”

”I can't do it,” Jean moaned. ”Oh, I can't tell on Ben.”

”Why not? He tried to drown you, and he cares for you no longer. He is a menace to the whole community.”

”I know it, I know it,” the girl sobbed. ”But I shall never tell on Ben, no, never.”

”But he has ruined your whole life, remember, and he may ruin others as innocent as you were, if he is not stopped. Think of that.”

”Haven't I thought of it day and night, until I have been about crazy?

But it is no use, I cannot tell on him.”

”And are you willing to let him go free that he may do the same villainous things in the future that he has done in the past? A word from you will stir the parish to its very depths. If the people only knew what Ben did to you at Long Wharf that night, they would rise and drive him from the place. If I told what I know they would not believe me. But if you confirm what I say, that will make all the difference.”

”Please do not urge me,” Jean pleaded. ”I cannot do it.”

”You must love him still.”

”No, I do not love him now,” and the girl's voice was low.

”What hinders you, then, from telling?”

”It is the love I had for him in the past. That is one of the sweet memories of my life. Nothing can ever take it from me. No matter what he has done, and no matter what may happen to me, it is something to look back upon those days which are almost sacred to me now. But there, it is no use for me to say anything more. It is difficult for me to explain, and harder, perhaps, for you to understand.”

With a deep sigh of weariness, Jean closed her eyes and turned her face on the pillow. Knowing that nothing more could be accomplished, and chiding himself that he had tired her, Douglas rose to go.

”Just a moment, please,” Jean said, as she again opened her eyes. ”Are you sure that Nell does not care for Ben? Tell me once more.”

”Miss Strong told me so herself,” Douglas replied. Then in a few words he related the scene that had taken place in front of the Jukes' house on Friday afternoon. ”Doesn't that prove the truth of what I have said?” he asked in conclusion.

”Thank you very much,” was the only reply that Jean made, as she again closed her eyes and turned her face toward the wall.