"Would Heaven I were! would Heaven I were! but I am not! I am not! Too well I remember I have bound my soul by an oath to seek out Marian's destroyer, and deliver him up to death! And I must do it! I must do it! though my heart break—as it will break in the act!"
"And you believe me to be guilty of this awful crime!"
"There stands the fearful evidence! Would Heaven it did not exist! oh! would Heaven it did not!"
"Listen to me, dear Miriam," he said, calmly, for he had now recovered his self-possession. "Listen to me—I am perfectly guiltless of the crime you impute to me. How is it possible that I could be otherwise than guiltless. Hear me explain the circumstances that have come to your knowledge," and he attempted to take her hand to lead her to a seat. But with a slight scream, she snatched her hand away, saying wildly:
"Touch me not! Your touch thrills me to sickness! to faintness! curdles—turns back the current of blood in my veins!"
"You think this hand a blood-stained one?"
"The evidence! the evidence!"
"I can explain that evidence. Miriam, my child, sit down—at any distance from me you please—only let it be near enough for you to hear. Did I believe you quite sane, Miriam, grief and anger might possibly seal my lips upon this subject—but believing you partially deranged—from illness and other causes—I will defend myself to you. Sit down and hear me."
Miriam dropped into the nearest chair.
Mr. Willcoxen took another, and commenced: