His Other Wife: A Novel — page 100: what you’re looking at

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

92 RACHEL’S COMMANDS. A ey She closed her story with these words: ¢‘And now, Mathew Croft, you behold in the woman who would have died a thousand deaths to save you from harm or sorrow, the future scourge—not of your crime of murder, but that, to her, far baser sin of infidelity to the memory of the wife whose fortune and whose life fulfilled the dreams of your ambition. Having rid yourself of her despised presence, you might at least have respected her idolatrous devotion too much to sin against it thus.” By this time Croft had gathered his faculties together sufficiently to attempt a denial of the awful charge, which had caused Leda to shrink away from his side with fear and loathing unspeakable. With all the cold insolence at his command, he said: ** Madam, I think that we have listened to the ravings of a maniac quite long enough. [J know not who you are or whence you came; but I do know that you are hope- lessly mad. If you have method enough to take yourself away as you came, in God’s name, do it; if not, I shall be forced to the disagreeable necessity of handing you over to the police as a fit subject for the insane asylum.” *‘Ha! ha! ha! Even you dare not attempt so black a villainy, unless you are prepared to have the indisputable proofs of your crime published to the world, and your beautiful young consort shown to society as an adulteress, bought with the price of your deadly sin. You do not suppose that I came here merely to tell my story ang depart, do you?” Eomicbooks.¢o 3