ONE WHO WOULD SHIELD THE INNOCENT.
While reading this letter, Marcus was conscious that the eyes of the
inventor were fixed piercingly upon him. That consciousness caused his
head to bow, and his cheeks to crimson with shame. It is the curse of
this morbid sensibility, that righteous indignation at a foul slander
upon one's good name springs up only after the victim has shown all the
accepted evidences of guilt.
There was one reason why a man much less sensitive than Marcus should
have been thrown off his balance by this letter. It was a fact that
every afternoon, at half past two o'clock, rain or shine, with
bachelor-like punctuality, he passed up and down in front of Miss
Pillbody's school, and looked sentimentally at the closed blinds,
thinking unutterable things. He was also addicted to standing at the
hydrant on the corner, and gazing hard at the house, wishing that he
could see through its brick walls. Then he would cross the street, and
pace up and down on that side, taking views of the house at every
variety of angle. This was precisely what the boy Bog did daily about an
hour and a half later.
Pages:
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323