The Face of Rosenfeld — page 131: what you’re looking at

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

= ae oA Ss ee abssty a apes Baie rea rete ga a pe ENS peel te weakens Otel Pad Reet) eae La ’ ye 3 Ovex + ey be 7 . y -, 7 ~ os + ae | z + d ~ * om : ' * . 124 | THE FACH OF ROSENFEL. began to believe him. Hor a moment he could not regain courage enough to return to the attack. Mr. Dye lifted his faded eyes inquiringly from the contempla- tion of his hat. “‘ You don’t believe me?” he said. ‘« Tt seems hardly possible.’’ ‘Sir, itis the truth. For myself I would not take the trouble to speak. YF orher sake I will say to you that I take my oath before Almighty God, as I hope for mercy in the world VS come, that ‘ do not know who her parents were.” | He said this solemnly and impressively. It produced a profound effect on Maxey, who had never drifted away from the religious teaching of his youth. The name of the Deity was a very solemn thing in his eyes. He could not understand why it should not be in the eyes of all men. Nevertheless, he mustered up courage to renew the battle. ‘Tf this be true, why then did you appear so excited on the night when you put this child into your wife’s arms? Why did you plead with her so earnestly never to reveal that the child was not your own? Why did you even say that if the truth were known it might bring you to the gallows?” Surprises ike this may startle the calmness of effront- ery, but there are few surprises sufficiently strong to overcome the calmness of despair. Mr. Dye was utterly unmoved. He replied in his somberest tones: | ‘Sir, you must be aware that the moribund when ap- proaching dissolution enters frequently into a stage of hallucination. ‘The mind wanders. If it were worth while to defend myself, I should say that my poor wife was not herseli—that she exaggerated.”