“But, contrary to all expectations, the apparently dying woman rallied, and slowly, very slowly, began to recover.
“Then, what was to be done? The guilty man selfishly refused to own the truth, and clear the name of his friend, and that friend was obliged to leave the country, or go to prison and serve a sentence for a crime he had never committed.
“He went to another land, and there devoted his time and strength to winning back enough to repay all that had been lost through his partner’s sin.
“A few days ago, the invalid wife died—died in blissful ignorance of the sad truth. When she was gone, all interest in life for her husband was ended. He felt that he could no longer bear the burden of his own guilt, and the knowledge of what another was suffering through him. He told the whole story, gave up every dollar he had left, and only asked that the name of the noble man who had suffered shame for his sake be cleared at once.
“The papers, to-night, will tell the story to all the world, and from this day forth no shadow will ever rest on the name of Stanley W. Clark.”
There was a moment of intense silence as Mr. Reed ceased speaking. Then came a perfect burst of cheers.
Clark’s face was buried in his hands, and when he lifted it to see Mr. Reed standing beside him, the glad tears were rolling down his cheeks, and more than one boy found his own eyes dim.
As for Charlie Reed—he declared that he was “’most too happy to live.”
All through the year Clark had been winning his way into the hearts of his schoolmates, and now they went wild over him, and shook his hands till his arms were lame, and showed so much sympathy and gladness for him, that, at last, he broke down entirely, and cried like a baby for pure joy.
From that day no shadow rested on his strong young face, and never again did he need to shrink from others, or dread a reference to the father who was, more than ever, his ideal.