A Heart's Bitterness — page 255: what you’re looking at

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A HEART’S BITTERNESS. 247 Violet sent a groom on the fleetest horse to the telegraph office. ‘I'hen she breathed freely, a vision of the unhappy Helen in prison could not longer torment her. Meanwhile Helen, Kemp, and their wretched comrade, — appeared for the preliminary hearing. The attorneys, Storms & Morton, had a clear case to charge against them. Nothing but commitment for trial at the next sessions ~ seemed possible, when Kemp begged leave to speak. ‘“My lord,” he said, in a broken voice, and with an earn- est face; looking at the magistrate, ‘‘I take all the respon- sibility. I alone am guilty. The woman is entirely inno- — cent. I told her the story, as true. I showed her the evi- dence. She was entirely deceived by me. She has acted sincerely in what she esteemed the interests of justice. Lay on me what penalty the law demands, but let her go. She is not my accomplice, but one of my victims. I persuaded her to go to the colonel, because as she believed thoroughly in this charge, I considered that the honesty of her statement — .would make it more effective. I was moved by hate and malice, because Lord Leigh treated me cavalierly, and would not receive me, and also because I thought that he did not regard my position as a man of means, at a time which itis needless to mention. I may defend myself on another plea when my case comes to trial, but I aver, now, that I pre- pared all this evidence, bought over the testimony of this precious rascal, and together we deceived Miss Hope. She is innocent! Let her go!” Helen heard amazed. This man was sacrificing all to de- fend her, when she knew that she had urged him on in his attack, had forced him to continue it when he had earnestly entreated her to abandon it. She knew that he, at that in- stant, remembered how she had added to the testimony, strengthened its weak points, been cognizant all the time of its falsity, had been his instigator as well as his accom- plice, and he stood now between her and doom, crying : “T alone am guilty! She isinnocent! Let her go!” She burst into a passion of tears. Kemp turned and snatched her to his bosom, hisrug- ged face working convulsively. He cried: ‘‘Helen, Helen! it is I, scoundrel that I am, that have brought you.to this shameful pass!” and, bowing his head against hers, tears streamed down his cheeks. | At this instant a lad from the telegraph office pressed up Eomicbooks.co