Ruby's Reward — page 349: what you’re looking at

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

~ But Edmund Carpenter was keen enough to under- stand that those diamonds, which he had believed so cunningly concealed that uo one could find them | without some previous knowledge of them, had been discovered; that Mrs. Gordon’s complicity liad in some way leaked out, and that the whole plot against Walter was on the verge of being revealed. It was a bitter pill Tor him to sw allow, when he | thought he was just on the point of winning the vic- | tory over his enemy; when he had hoped to hear an irrevocable sentence pronounced before that day should close; but he was sure that Mrs. Gordon was” taking this way, by the advice and useht of Wal- ter's friends and enunsel, to shield herself, and him as well, from exposure, and he was in no way anx- ious that she should be pressed to make further con- fession. So he strove to conciliate the prosecuting attor- ney, ane at length prevailed upon him to abandon his determination to have a full explanation, and the court finally ruled that, if Mrs. Gordon had seen tit to pledge herself to secrecy and drop all further prosecution, in order to secure the return of her property, she should be allowed to keep her word inviolate. And so the mysterious case was closed, and Walter was honorably acquitted, Mr. Carpenter placed himself in Mrs. Gordon's path as she was about following Mr. Conant from the room. “Tmust say this is a very singular termination to this affair,” he sneered; ‘you were not over anxious for that young upstart’s acquittal the last time I saw you. It Would be something of a satisfaction to me ey ang what made you hop over the fence so sud- enly:.”” “T think you will not be left long in the dark, even if you do not know already,” Mrs. Gordou coldly replied, and then passed from the room. Edmund Carpenter went back to the still enraged lawyer, with whom he held a somewhat pr otracted consultation, and tinally he too ae Ae to. mniasoOs e the court-house. * aye