'Indeed he is, Mr. Shand.'
'And how about his real wife?'
'His real wife, as you call her—'
'She is, as sure as my name is Richard Shand.'
'It is on behalf of that lady that we are almost more anxious than for Mr. Caldigate himself. In this matter she has been perfectly innocent; and whoever may have been the culprit,—or culprits,—she has been cruelly ill-used.'
'She'll have her husband back again, of course,' said Dick.
'That will depend in part upon what faith the judge who tried the case may place in your story. Your deposition shall be taken, and it will be my duty to submit it to the Secretary of State. He will probably be actuated by the weight which this further evidence will have upon the judge who heard the former evidence. You will understand, Mr. Shand, that your word will be opposed to the words of four other persons.'
'Four perjured scoundrels,' said Dick, with energy.
'Just so,—if your story be true.'
'It is true, sir,' said Dick, with much anger in his tone.