said of
the act when it was known, as it might be, though not from him?

Two or three times he arose and lighted the gas, examined the diamonds
carefully to see if there were not some mistake. But there could be
none. He had seen them on the lady's person and had heard them described
so accurately that he could not be mistaken; and then the box was the
same he had once seen when Jack took him to his mother's room to show
him what Uncle Arthur had brought. That was a tortoise shell, of an oval
shape, lined with blue satin, and this was a tortoise shell, oval
shaped, and lined with blue satin. Harold felt, when at last the
daylight shone into his room, that if it had tarried a moment longer he
must have gone mad. He was very white and haggard, and there were dark
rings under his eyes, when he went down to the office, where the first
person he met was Billy, who also looked pale and worn, with a different
expression upon his face from anything Harold had ever seen before. It
was as if all life and hope had gone, leaving him nothing now to care
for. In his anxiety and worry about the diamonds Harold had scarcely
given a thought to what Peterkin had said of Jerrie's refusal of Billy,
for it seemed so improbable that the latter would presume to offer
himself to her; but at sight of Billy's face it came back to him with a
throb of pity for the man, and a thrill of joy for himself for whom
Peterkin had said his son was rejected.

'Does Billy know of the diamonds, I wonder?' he thought.

As if to answer the question in the negative, Billy came quickly
forward, and offering his hand, bade Harold good-morning, and then
motioning him to a seat, took one beside him, and began:

'I'm awful sorry, Hal, th-that you are mix-mixed up in th-this but I sup
suppose you m-must t-tell the truth.'

'Yes, I must tell the truth, Harold said.'

'Fa-father will be so m-mad,' Billy continued. 'I wi-wish I could
t-t-testify f-for you, bu-but I can't. You were th-there, I wa-wan't,
and all I know fa-father told me; bu-but d don't volunteer information.'

'No,' Harold said, slowly, wishing that the ocean were rolling between
him and this detestable suit.

Once he resolved to go to Judge St. Claire, deliver up the diamonds, and
tell him all he knew about them, but this would be bringing Jerrie into
the matter, and so he changed his mind and wondered aimlessly about the
town until it was time for him to appear at the court-house, where a
crowd