CHAPTER VIII
MR SIM TELLS A LIE
Though Daniel had expressly asked Minnie to tell his friend Titus Sim that he was not at the bottom of Wall Shaft Gully but far away in present safety, the wanderer’s wife did no such thing. She would not trust herself to associate Sim with her husband’s tragic misfortune; for she could not yet feel certainty that the footman was all he pretended and declared. His conduct after Sweetland’s disappearance proved exemplary. He fulfilled the mission left behind by Daniel with all possible tact and judgment. Alone he visited Minnie, and broke the news to her that she was a widow. But she surprised him more than he dismayed her.
“I pray that you an’ everybody be mistaken, Mr Sim,” she said. “I hope my Daniel’s not at the bottom of that awful place. But whether his days are over an’ he lies there, or whether he’s safe an’ beyond the reach of those who want to take him, my part is the same. I’ll never rest till I’ve done all a faithful wife can do to clear his memory of this wicked thing. You know so well as I do that he was an innocent man.”
“Yes, and trust me to prove him so, if wit and hard work can do it.”
“Those who loved him must labour to clear him. Let them who want my good word an’ good-will right Daniel. ’Tis the only way to my heart, an’ I don’t care who knows it.”
Perhaps those words were the cleverest that Minnie had ever uttered. At any rate, they produced a profound effect on Titus Sim. He pondered deeply before replying; then he nodded thoughtfully to himself more than once.
“’Tis the great task before us all; to make his memory sweet. Rest sure enough that I’ll do my share,” he promised.
But Minnie Sweetland found her dislike of Sim not lessened by his correct attitude during these dark and troubled days. She avoided him when possible. She kept the secret of her husband’s flight very close. Indeed, two living souls alone knew it beside Minnie, and they were her husband’s parents. Dan need have been in small concern for his mother, because on the morning after the poacher’s flight Minnie had private speech with the Sweetlands, and made them understand the truth. The woman was wise, and perceiving that her son’s salvation probably hung upon this secret, she kept it. Matthew Sweetland also preserved silence. His melancholy was profound, and only Minnie had any power to lift him out of it. Her energy and determination deeply impressed him; her absolute belief and trust in her husband’s honour put life into him. He told her all that he knew concerning the death of Adam Thorpe, and promised to take her to the scene of the outrage that she might study it for herself.