mself to believe that in destroying the will he would
be doing no more than an act of rough justice, and that God would
certainly condemn no one to eternal punishment for a just act. But
still, whenever he would turn round to the candle, his hand would
refuse to raise the paper to the flame. When done, it could not be
undone! And whether those eternal flames should or should not get
possession of him, there would be before him a life agonised by the
dread of them. What could Mr Cheekey do worse for him than that?

The Wednesday would at any rate do as well. Why rob himself of the
comfort of one day during which his soul would not be irretrievably
condemned? Now he might sleep. For this night, at any rate, he might
sleep. He doubted whether he would ever sleep again after the doing
of the deed. To be commonly wicked was nothing to him,--nothing to
break through all those ordinary rules of life which parents teach
their children and pastors their flocks, but as to which the world
is so careless. To covet other men's goods, to speak evil of his
neighbours, to run after his neighbour's wife if she came in his
path, to steal a little in the ordinary way,--such as selling a lame
horse or looking over an adversary's hand at whist, to swear to a
lie, or to ridicule the memory of his parents,--these peccadillos
had never oppressed his soul. That not telling of the will had been
burdensome to him only because of the danger of discovery. But to
burn a will, and thereby clearly to steal L1500 a year from his
cousin! To commit felony! To do that for which he might be confined
at Dartmoor all his life, with his hair cut, and dirty prison
clothes, and hard food, and work to do! He thought it would be well
to have another day of life in which he had not done the deed. He
therefore put the will back into the book and went to his bed.

CHAPTER XXI

Mr Apjohn's Success

Early on the Wednesday morning Mr Apjohn and Mr Brodrick were on
foot, and preparing for the performance of their very disagreeable
day's work. Mr Brodrick did not believe at all in the day's work, and
in discussing the matter with Mr Apjohn, after they had determined
upon their line of action, made his mind known very clearly. To him
it was simply apparent that if the will had fallen into the power
of a dishonest person, and if the dishonest man could achieve his
purpose by destroying it, the will would be destroyed. Of Cousin
Henry he knew nothing. Cousin He