dy felt what popular support might do
for him. Surely there need be no despondency while so good a hope
remained to him! He did tremble as he remembered Dolly Longestaffe's
letter, and the letter of the old man who was dead. And he knew that
it was possible that other things might be adduced; but would it not
be better to face it all than surrender his money and become a pauper,
seeing, as he did very clearly, that even by such surrender he could
not cleanse his character?

But he had given those forged documents into the hands of Mr Brehgert!
Again he had acted in a hurry,--without giving sufficient thought to
the matter in hand. He was angry with himself for that also. But how
is a man to give sufficient thought to his affairs when no step that
he takes can be other than ruinous? Yes;--he had certainly put into
Brehgert's hands means of proving him to have been absolutely guilty
of forgery. He did not think that Marie would disclaim the signatures,
even though she had refused to sign the deeds, when she should
understand that her father had written her name; nor did he think that
his clerk would be urgent against him, as the forgery of Croll's name
could not injure Croll. But Brehgert, should he discover what had been
done, would certainly not permit him to escape. And now he had put
these forgeries without any guard into Brehgert's hands.

He would tell Brehgert in the morning that he had changed his mind. He
would see Brehgert before any action could have been taken on the
documents, and Brehgert would no doubt restore them to him. Then he
would instruct his daughter to hold the money fast, to sign no paper
that should be put before her, and to draw the income herself. Having
done that, he would let his foes do their worst. They might drag him
to gaol. They probably would do so. He had an idea that he could not
be admitted to bail if accused of forgery. But he would bear all that.
If convicted he would bear the punishment, still hoping that an end
might come. But how great was the chance that they might fail to
convict him! As to the dead man's letter, and as to Dolly
Longestaffe's letter, he did not think that any sufficient evidence
could be found. The evidence as to the deeds by which Marie was to
have released the property was indeed conclusive; but he believed that
he might still recover those documents. For the present it must be his
duty to do nothing,--when he should have recovered and destroyed those
docu