About half way through the woods I saw the cliffs of which the landlord's daughter had warned me. In the dark they would have been dangerous indeed to one unfamiliar with them. At some time or other there had been a great landslip, which had opened up a chasm of great depth; in parts slight fences had been put up, but there were spaces entirely unprotected, and I was thankful we had been warned of the danger. It was half-past seven by my watch when we reached Glasserton, and I had no difficulty in finding the registrar's house. He was at home when I called, and did not receive me too cordially. He had been upset by the trial, and it was with the greatest difficulty I succeeded in obtaining a glance of the original entry of the marriage. It was only by bribery and threats that I effected my purpose, and I had to use extreme persuasion to induce him to grant me an interview with Jane Seebold. I elicited very little from her in consequence of the state of confusion she was in, but I was satisfied in my own mind that it was M. Felix who had tampered with the book. From her imperfect description of the man I judged that he must in some way have disguised himself for the purpose of the visit, and I was assisted to this conclusion partly by the height of her visitor, who she said was not a tall man. Dr. Peterssen was not less than six feet, and having to decide between him and M. Felix I decided unhesitatingly in favor of the latter. The registrar had been in Glasserton but three or four years, whereas Jane Seebold had been in it all her life, and I learned from her that two of the three witnesses to the marriage, the doctor and the old wagoner, had long been dead. At nine o'clock my inquiries were ended, and Sophy and I started back for the inn.
"Tired, Sophy?" I asked.
"Not a bit," she answered, cheerfully, "I could walk all night."
Still we did not get along so fast as in the early part of the evening; it would have been cruel to take unfair advantage of Sophy's indomitable spirit; the girl would have walked till she dropped, and I had some consideration for her. Therefore it was that we did not reach the middle of Deering Woods till past ten, by which time the moon had risen. When I was not talking to Sophy my mind was occupied by the task upon which I had been engaged. Since my first introduction to the Mystery of M. Felix a great deal had been accomplished. The mystery has been practically solved, although the public were not yet in possession of the facts. Emilia's agony was over, as I believed, for my wildest dreams would not have compassed what was to occur during the next few weeks; she had been fortunate in gaining a champion so noble and generous as M. Bordier, and her daughter's happiness was assured. I could understand now her anxiety as to M. Bordier's silence since his discovery of the copy of the marriage certificate, and I divined his reason for it. With a horror of publicity, and out of regard for her, he did not wish her to become acquainted with his and his son's arrest until he himself informed her of it, and he entertained a hope that the report of the case would not get into the London papers. I also now understood her anxious references to M. Julian's state of health; they bore upon his failing sight, to restore which he and his father had come to London. The young man had been imprudent, but I trusted to Mr. Wordsworth's assurances that he could make a cure of him if Julian would abide by his instructions. I had no doubt, now that Emilia's good name was established, that Julian would submit to the guidance of this eminent oculist, whose heart was as kind as his skill was great.
So far, all was well, but I was not satisfied; I could not consider my task accomplished till I had brought Dr. Peterssen and M. Felix to the bar of justice and restored to Emilia's arms the husband she believed she had lost in Switzerland.
Sophy broke in upon my musings.
"Is there a man in the moon?" she asked.
"They say so," I answered, lightly.
"I see 'is face," said Sophy, "as plain as plain can be."
We were near the fallen cliffs as these words passed between us, and before I had time to utter another my attention was arrested by the sound of a shot.