“Oh, yes! In a measure. I had much respect for John. For his part he would persist in feeling grateful to me.”
“Yes. You had rendered him a service,” she said, assuming a knowledge which she did not possess.
“Not much,” he said quietly. “No doubt, though, he had reason to view it strongly. I saved his life by pulling him from the river. It was easy enough for me to do, but he seemed to think it the greatest favor.”
“He had reason,” she replied.
“I begin to see through John’s action now,” she said to herself. “The gratitude of an honorable man is a strong feeling. Has he allowed it to make him take the place of a guilty man?”
“I would very much like to call on John,” he said. “And will if I can spare the time.”
“You know, I presume, the cause of his imprisonment?” she asked, shifting her chair so that she could look him more directly in the face.
“Not fully. It is on suspicion of being concerned in a robbery at Mr. Leonard’s.”
“It is on account of his having a small piece of the stolen goods,” she said. “I have learned where he got the silk. You have seen this before, Mr. Powers?” She displayed the fatal bow, which again had fallen into her possession.
“I can’t say that I have,” he replied, looking at it very closely.