“I am glad of it,” said Tarbot. “I thought you would feel so and act so. I knew there was no other course open to you.”
“I have not the least idea how to proceed,” continued Mrs. Pelham, “but I shall not rest day or night until Richard Pelham is arrested. I have thought over all that you have told me, and the evidence seems conclusive. Dick’s gloom, his unaccountable and strange misery, all that took place immediately after the death of the child, can only be accounted for in the one way. It is fearful; but there is not the slightest doubt that the circumstantial evidence against Dick is of the strongest nature. Yes, I must take the necessary steps to bring him to justice, and at once.”
“You are doing the right thing,” said Tarbot. “A life for a life, remember. You have the authority of Scripture for what you are about to do.”
Mrs. Pelham shivered and covered her face with her hands.
“I loved him well,” she continued. “This very morning as I sat by his side at breakfast I noticed how kind he looked. Dr. Tarbot, are you sure of what you are telling me?”
“I am certain. The circumstantial evidence is so strong that it will hang him.”
“Great Heaven! If Dick dies by the hand of the hangman I believe I shall go mad. I feel almost as if he were a son to me.”
“Think what he did, and your feelings will alter.”
“That is true. I hate him already. Oh, my heart is torn.”
“You will be better when you have done what is right,” said Tarbot. “He will hang for this.”