The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain
page 24 of 69 (34%)
page 24 of 69 (34%)
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"You see, he--well, he--he made me promise I wouldn't."
The wife looked him over, and said, very slowly: "Made--you--promise? Edward, what do you tell me that for?" "Mary, do you think I would lie?" She was troubled and silent for a moment, then she laid her hand within his and said: "No . . . no. We have wandered far enough from our bearings--God spare us that! In all your life you have never uttered a lie. But now--now that the foundations of things seem to be crumbling from under us, we--we--" She lost her voice for a moment, then said, brokenly, "Lead us not into temptation. . . I think you made the promise, Edward. Let it rest so. Let us keep away from that ground. Now--that is all gone by; let us he happy again; it is no time for clouds." Edward found it something of an effort to comply, for his mind kept wandering--trying to remember what the service was that he had done Goodson. The couple lay awake the most of the night, Mary happy and busy, Edward busy, but not so happy. Mary was planning what she would do with the money. Edward was trying to recall that service. At first his conscience was sore on account of the lie he had told Mary--if it was a lie. After much reflection--suppose it _was_ a lie? What then? Was it such a great matter? Aren't we always _acting_ lies? Then why not tell them? Look at Mary--look what she had done. While he was hurrying off |
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