Her Faithful Knight — page 287: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Dorothy’s Confession. 283 the following day, when Creswell brought it to me, and I opened it in her presence.” Aylmer sprang from his seat. “But then Cresswell has only to appear and give evi- dence and your name is cleared,” he cried. “She must return to town at once——” “She must stay where she is! Unless I saw her and could instruct her just what to say she would betray me.” “Betray you?” “Yes. Oh, Mr. Read, you must trust me not at all or all in all. I have told you the truth about my sister’s death, and if you will help me to hide and later on to get away quietly from England I shall be very deeply grateful. But if you try to persuade me to face a trial, even though I know quite well I should be at once proved innocent of this hideous charge, you will drive me from your house and from the only friend I have who is willing and able to help me. And rather than be dragged into court I would kill myself!” The white, set look of horror he had seen in her face before shadowed it again now. Aylmer saw it was vain to argue with her; and although her conduct in evading an inquiry which could only tend to prove her innocent appeared to him almost criminally foolish, he understood that it would be equally futile to reason with or to ques- tion her in her present mood. In order to turn her thoughts in gentler channels, he rose, and unlocking his desk, drew out a parcel of photo- graphs. “T have a confession to make to you,” he said. “The confession of a mean and paltry action. When you and I were fellow students for that brief space of time at the British Museum you once dropped in the galleries a por- trait of yourself, which I picked up and detained long nough to note the name of the photographer. I wrote : s P grap GOmiIichboo S (EC)