“You horrify me, Mark!�
“I am myself so enraged I can hardly exercise self-control. Think of having a man in the community with the power to call his victims to him at will.�
“Does Donald know of this?�
“No, I think not yet. I am afraid that when he does it will end everything between him and Esther, if there has been anything, which I doubt. I believe Don has a friendly interest in Esther, but I suspect he is growing fond of Tibby.�
“Indeed! Well, I don’t see how he could help it. But Esther is such a good girl.�
“Yes, before she became the nervous wreck she is, because of that—Russell.� Mark ground his teeth.
“O Mark, this is dreadful, dreadful! What can be done?�
“The hound must be driven from this community, now and forever. This poor girl’s obsession is sufficient excuse for a mob with tar and feathers. Were it not for the publicity of the thing, and the pain Esther would experience should these night wanderings be made public, I would organize a posse myself, to-night, and ride the fellow out of the territory on a rail.�
“Ah, Mark, you must not go against the laws of the land. Mob violence can never be right.�
“I don’t know, Alice—when one has a case like this which the law would not touch.�