"I heard the kitchen clock strike."
"What did Jasper Pennington say to you?"
"You need not answer that question," remarked Admiral Trefry.
"Why did Jasper Pennington come into the house that night?" again queried the lawyer.
"Need I answer that?" asked Naomi.
"No," answered the Admiral, and I saw that he was anxious to save Naomi from awkward questions, for which I blessed him. "All we want to know is whether you are sure Jasper Pennington was at Pennington on the night in question at the time you state. We have nothing to do as to why he was there or what was said."
I saw, too, that Richard Tresidder did not wish the lawyer to ask any more questions, although I was sure the poor girl would suffer when she returned to Pennington, and I wondered then how I could save her from pain.
And so very few questions were asked after that, and a little later I was a free man; for it was clear that if I was at Pennington I could not be rushing along the headland by the Lizard, and so it must have been some other man that the Preventive men had chased, and I had been captured by mistake.
It all seemed so wonderful to me that I could hardly believe that my danger was past; at the same time I longed greatly to speak to Naomi and thank her for what she had done. But nowhere could I see her.
As I walked down Falmouth Street I seemed to be treading on air. If I had loved my love before, it seemed to have increased a thousandfold now; besides, I knew that she must care for me, or she would not have braved so much to save me from danger. I had difficulty in keeping from shouting aloud, so great was my joy. I felt that my strength had come back to me, and I cared no more for the threats of Cap'n Jack than for the anger of a puling child. I knew that Israel Barnicoat was somewhere lying in wait to do me harm, but I was not afraid. I saw this, too: Richard Tresidder would desire to have as little as possible said about my visit to Pennington, especially as he hoped that Naomi Penryn would be his son's wife. I was sure he would seek other means to harm me, but not in a public way; if I was struck it would be in the dark; but, as I said, I was not afraid, for had not my love come boldly to my aid, and saved me from the enmity of evil men?