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ng upon his soul. He could almost have seized Jerrold's hand and thanked him; but proofs--proofs were what he needed. It was not his mind that was to be convinced, it was "society" that must be satisfied of her utter innocence, that it might be enabled to say, "Well, I never for a moment believed a word of it." Link by link the chain of circumstantial evidence must be destroyed, and this was only one. "You mean that that letter was not intended for Miss Renwick?" he asked, with eagerness he strove hard to repress. "It was never meant for anybody," said Jerrold, the color coming back to his face and courage to his eyes. "That letter was never sent by me to any woman. It's my writing, of course, I can't deny that; but I never even meant it to go. If it left that desk it must have been stolen. I've been hunting high and low for it. I knew that such a thing lying around loose would be the cause of mischief. God! is _that_ what all this fuss is about?" And he looked warily, yet with infinite anxiety, into his captain's eyes. "There is far more to it, as you well know, sir," was the stern answer. "For whom was this written, if not for her? It won't do to _half_ clear her name." "Answer me this, Captain Armitage. Do you mean that that letter has compromised Miss Renwick?--that it is she whose name has been involved, and that it was of her that Chester meant to speak?" "Certainly it was,--and I too." There was an instant's silence; then Jerrold began to laugh nervously: "Oh, well, I fancy it isn't the first time the revered and respected captain has got away off the track. All the same I do not mean to overlook his language to me; and I may say right now, Captain Armitage, that yours, too, calls for explanation." "You shall have it in short order, Mr. Jerrold, and the sooner you understand the situation the better. So far as I am concerned, Miss Renwick needed no defender; but, thanks to your mysterious and unwarranted absence from quarters two very unlucky nights, and to other circumstances I have no need to name, and to your _penchant_ for letter-writing of a most suggestive character, it _is_ Miss Renwick whose name has been brought into question here at this post, and most prominently so. In plain words, Mr. Jerrold, you who brought this trouble upon her by your own misconduct must clear her, no matter at whose expense, or--" "Or what?" "I make no threats. I prefer that you should make the proper expl
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