"
"Then why did you place the paper in the tree?"
She saw the difficulty in which she had placed herself, and for
an instant she stared at me with the look of a wild animal caught
in a trap. Then, "In case the agent was late," she muttered.
"But since Vilain had to go to the spot, why did he not deposit
the paper in the tree himself? Why did he send you to the place
beforehand? Why did--" and then I broke off and cried harshly,
"Shall I tell you why? Shall I tell you why, you false jade?"
She cowered away from me at the words, and stood terror-stricken,
gazing at me like one fascinated. But she did not answer,
"Because," I cried, "your story is a tissue of lies! Because it
was you, and you only, who stole this paper! Because--Down on
your knees! down on your knees!" I thundered, "and confess!
Confess, or I will have you whipped at the cart's tail, like the
false witness you are!"
She threw herself down shrieking, and caught my wife by the
skirts, and in a breath had said all I wanted; and more than
enough to show me that I had suspected Vilain without cause, and
both played the simpleton myself and harried my household to
distraction.
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