established in Sir Walter's
heroine. By some strange chance, too, tradition, which often takes the
place of religion, had no power over her; and although hatred of
oppression and of harsh dealing is a very estimable quality, and one
which will go a long way towards constructing an ethical system for us,
it will not do everything.

She began to reflect. She had no watch with her. She had noticed the
clocks when she returned, and she remembered that they showed half-past
seven. She could not at the moment deliberately say a quarter to
eight, although really it did not much matter. Who would be the worse
if she declared it was a quarter to eight? Nobody, and she knew that
Cutts would be the better. She had not specially observed the clocks;
how could she, for she had no notion that anything important depended
upon accuracy. She was short-sighted, and she had not seen the
regulator. Nothing was actually before her eyes but a great Dutch
kitchen clock, which showed half-past seven, and might have been wrong.
Something struck when she left the church, and the strokes chimed again
in her ears as she was shaping her reply to Mr. Mortimer. They sounded
like half-past, and in that case it must have been a quarter to eight
when she stood on her doorstep. Finally, there was the reason of
reasons which superseded the necessity of any further attempt to
persuade herself by any casuistry--she must save Cutts.

"A quarter to eight," she said decisively,

"Odd that you should have seen him just at that time. In less than
five minutes the place was in a blaze. He could hardly have lit it up
himself. Would you swear before the Court it was a quarter to eight?"

If she had been asked this at first she would have hesitated, but she
now boldly said "Yes."

"Very well; I do not see what more I can do now. I will think over the
matter," and Miriam departed.

The lawyer had his suspicions, and determined, after some inquiries in
Cowfold, that Miss Miriam should not be called. He told the story to
his partner, who laughed, and said he did not see anything
extraordinary in it. It was a common case of perjury. Mr. Mortimer
was not sure that it was common perjury. Externally it might be so,
and yet there seemed to be a difference. Moreover, he could not find
out anything in Cowfold to make him believe that there was any motive
for it.

"Perfectly motiveless," he replied. "A noteworthy instance," for he
was a bit of a p