Earle Wayne's nobility

by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon

Milly, overcome by the genial warmth after her exposure to the cold, and also by the effective quietus of a full stomach, had fallen asleep by the stove, her head resting against the side of the house, while Mrs. Loker still kept her motionless position by the bedside, her head buried in the clothes; whether she also was asleep or not, Editha could not tell, but she earnestly hoped she was, for she feared, she knew not what, if the man at the window should become aware that his presence was discovered.

The window was at the head of the bed; so, of course, the invalid was wholly unconscious of, and in no danger of knowing, that he had another listener to his confession. The man himself, Editha thought, had not seen her glance that way, for his ear had been laid against the hole in the glass, and he appeared to be listening intently.

After the first excess of fright had passed the stagnated blood rushed through her veins in a swift torrent, sending sharp, tingling pains throughout her whole body, until it seemed as if she was literally swathed in nettles.

But she gave no outward sign. Her thoughts flew to Earle, her manly lover across the sea.

She held in her hands the evidence which, a little more complete, and signed by the man before her, would vindicate his honor and restore him the respect and confidence of all who knew him.

So she resolved to sit quietly there until this was accomplished, though she wondered if her weak and trembling fingers would be able to hold the pencil and trace the words that yet remained to be spoken.

She did not even dare to consider how she was to get home in the fast gathering gloom with that precious paper in her possession; she did not dare to think whether that dreadful creature outside would allow her to leave that place and carry with her the evidence that would serve to doom him to a felon’s cell for a long and tedious term of years.

She only found herself wondering how he had attained his position at that window, for she knew they were in the second story of the building, and it seemed a marvel to her that he should be there at all.

Had he seen and recognized her while she was talking with Milly outside, and then, fearing what would follow, obtained a ladder and climbed to the window?

It was a puzzle to her, but she did not know of the low building attached to the house, and which rendered it very easy for any one to climb and look in upon that poverty-stricken family within.