288
CHEATING THE GALLOWS.
and was smoking a meerschaum. He walked along at her side, making no offer to put his pipe out.
"You have not heard from Everard?" he asked. She flushed. "Do you think I'm an accessory after the fact?" she cried.
" No, no," he said soothingly. " Pardon me, I was think- ing he might have written — giving no exact address, of course. Men do sometimes dare to write thus to women. But, of course, he knows you too well — you would have put the police on his track."
" Certainly," she exclaimed indignantly. " Even if he is innocent he must face the charge."
" Do you still entertain the possibility of his innocence ? " " I do," she said boldly, and looked him full in the face. His eyelids drooped with a quiver. " Don't you? "
" I have hoped against hope," he replied, in a voice fal- tering with emotion. " Poor old Everard ! But I am
afraid there is no room for doubt. Oh, this wicked curse of money — tempting the noblest and the best of us."
The weeks rolled on. Gradually she found herself seeing more and more of Tom Peters, and gradually, strange to say, he grew less re- pulsive. From the talks they had together, she began to see that there was really no reason to put faith in Everard ; his criminality, his faithless- ness, were too flagrant. Gradually she grew ashamed of her early mistrust of Peters ; remorse bred esteem, and esteem
>ri%..
SHE DID NOT REPULSE HIM.'
