After having posted this eloquent epistle with his own hand at the pillar-box he returned to his supper, and then went, somewhat dejected, to bed.
Chapter Twenty One.
Reginald finds himself “Dismissed with a Caution.”
There is a famous saying of a famous modern poet which runs—
“Sudden the worst turns the best to the brave.”
And so it was with Reginald Cruden when finally the whole bitter truth of his position broke in upon his mind. If the first sudden shock drove him into the dungeon of Giant Despair, a night’s quiet reflection, and the consciousness of innocence within, helped him to shake off the fetters, and emerge bravely and serenely from the crisis.
He knew he had nothing to be proud of—nothing to excuse his own folly and shortsightedness—nothing to flatter his self-esteem; but no one could accuse him of dishonour, or point the finger of shame in his way. So he rose next morning armed for the worst.
What that would be he could not say, but whatever it was he would face it, confident in his own integrity and the might of right to clear him.