“You little know your wife, if you think that. She’s altogether too strong a woman to succumb to misfortune like that, altogether too noble a woman to do any thing of that kind. And as for her opinion of you, why, it stands to reason that she’ll see the absurdity of it, as soon as the first shock has passed off. Just as soon as she’s in a condition to use her mind, and think things over, she’ll say to herself that there’s something which she doesn’t understand, and she’ll ask you to explain. Take my word for it.”
As they mounted Mr. Flint’s steps, Arthur said, “Will—will you do the talking? I don’t think I could bear to go over the whole story again.”
Mr. Flint had but just got home from down-town. He was now in his bath. He sent word to the callers that he would dress and be with them as quickly as he could. They waited silently in the darkened drawing room, and listened to the ticking of an old-fashioned hall-clock. In about ten minutes Mr. Flint joined them.
Hetzel stated their errand. Of course, Mr. Flint was horrified and amazed. Of course, he agreed eagerly to do every thing in his power to aid them.
“Now then, for Romer,” said Hetzel. “Where shall we find him?”
“I don’t know,” said Arthur. “We must look in the directory.”
They stopped at an apothecary’s shop, noted Romer’s address, and started for the nearest elevated railway station.
Half way there Mr. Flint halted.
“No,” he said, “we can’t depend upon the cars. We must have a carriage. There’s no telling how much traveling we shall have to do, before this business is completed.”
They engaged a carriage at a hack-stand hard-by; and in it were jolted over the cobble-stones to Mr. Romer’s abode.