“Please,” said Mr. Phipps quietly, “I should like to answer that. Whether it would do me damage or not is slightly academic, as I have already handed in my resignation as principal of the Eastern High School. I do not intend to return to Rosemont; my wife, my children, and I are leaving for Ohio to-morrow.”
“You have resigned your position? When?”
“Last night. My wife agreed with me that my usefulness here would probably be seriously impaired after I had testified.”
“You are a wealthy man, Mr. Phipps?”
“On the contrary, I am a poor man.”
“Yet you are able to resign your position and go West as a man of independent means?”
“Are you asking me whether I have been bribed, Mr. Farr?” asked Mr. Phipps gravely.
“I am asking you nothing of the kind. I am simply——”
“Your Honour! Your Honour!”
“Because if you are,” continued Mr. Phipps clearly over the imperious thunder of the gavel, “I should like to ask you what sum you yourself would consider sufficient to reimburse you for the loss of your private happiness, your personal reputation, and your public career?”