A Fair Fraud — page 221: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

210 A Fair Fraud by in the stables! Oh, surely, surely, mamma, you will go to the inquest and identify him? You will not allow him to be put into a name- less grave like a pauper ? ’ ‘Surely—I shall do nothing of the sort, Hetty! I should not be such an utter fool! Why should I throw up the game when it is mine at last? to say nothing of your prospects, which would be irrevocably ruined by such a proceeding. On the contrary, if I am ques- tioned, I shall certainly swear that | know absolutely nothing whatever 2bout the man —and who is there to contradict me, pray ?’ ‘Are you not afraid of Mr Naylor, mamma? He knows the truth.’ ‘I defy Mr Naylor!’ cried Mrs Lane, snap- ping her fingers. ‘If he betra:s me, I shall simply deny his statements. He can only say he remembers me at the trial as Mrs Brad- ford, and J~shall merely reply that I was in India at the time, and that it must be, there- fore, a case of mistaken identity. There is no proof at all, just my word against his, that is all.’ For a long time after her mother left her, Hester remained walking up and down her room in the greatest perplexity. She was torn in two betwixt her sense of right and of justice to her dead father and her desire to save the name and credit of her mother. She GORMGIOO 4 (G' O)