"No one who knows you can possibly believe that.--O Gerald--husband--my dearest and best--listen to me!"
"Clara, you would make a coward of me."
"Oh, no, no! But consider how strong the evidence is against you. Less than that has brought innocent men to the scaffold before now."
"Come what may, I must stay and face this out."
"Again I say no. A few days, perhaps a few hours even, may bring the real criminal to light. As Mr. Starkie said, you must go on a little journey--a journey where no one can trace you. For my sake, Gerald--for your wife's sake!"
"Oh, my dear boy, do, pray, listen to her," put in Miss Primby, who up to the present had scarcely uttered a word.
"To-morrow will prove my innocence."
"How devoutly I hope so! But can we be sure of it? Days, weeks even, may elapse before the murderer is discovered, and meanwhile what will become of you! Gerald--dear one, think--think!"
"I have thought, Clara. You are asking an impossibility."
"I am asking you to save your life. You must fly--you must hide, but only for a little while, I trust. You must leave me here to help to hunt down the murderer--to fight for you while you are away."