rd that she had no objection to the
colonies, and that, under the pressing emergency of his expatriation,
she was willing to become Mrs. Shorter with more expedition than
usually attends fashionable weddings. Shorter, however, escaped, and
has never been seen back again."

Eames declared that he did not believe a word of it. Nevertheless, as
he walked home he came to the conclusion that Mr. Shorter must have
been the handsome gentleman with Indian securities, to whom "no" had
been said once too often.

While sitting with Conway Dalrymple, he had forgotten to say a word
about Jael and Sisera.

CHAPTER XLVII

Dr. Tempest at the Palace

[Illustration]

Intimation had been sent from the palace to Dr. Tempest of
Silverbridge of the bishop's intention that a commission should be
held by him, as rural dean, with other neighbouring clergymen, as
assessors with him, that inquiry might be made on the part of the
Church into the question of Mr. Crawley's guilt. It must be understood
that by this time the opinion had become very general that Mr. Crawley
had been guilty,--that he had found the cheque in his house, and that
he had, after holding it for many months, succumbed to temptation,
and applied it to his own purposes. But various excuses were made for
him by those who so believed. In the first place it was felt by all
who really knew anything of the man's character, that the very fact
of his committing such a crime proved him to be hardly responsible
for his actions. He must have known, had not all judgment in such
matters been taken from him, that the cheque would certainly be
traced back to his hands. No attempt had been made in the disposing
of it to dispose of it in such a way that the trace should be
obliterated. He had simply given it to a neighbour with a direction
to have it cashed, and had written his own name on the back of it.
And therefore, though there could be no doubt as to the theft in the
mind of those who supposed that he had found the cheque in his own
house, yet the guilt of the theft seemed to be almost annihilated by
the folly of the thief. And then his poverty, and his struggles, and
the sufferings of his wife, were remembered; and stories were told
from mouth to mouth of his industry in his profession, of his great
zeal among the brickmakers of Hoggle End, of acts of charity done by
him which startled the people of the district into admiration;--how
he had worked with his own hands for