"Madam, the statements you have made are so extraordinary, that you
must pardon me if I am unusually cautious in my course. While I have
no right to doubt your assertions, they seem almost incredible, and
the use you might make of the license----"

"What! you find it so difficult to credit the villainy of a man--and
yet so easy to suspect, to believe all possible deceit and wickedness
in a poor helpless woman? Oh, man of God! is your mantle of charity
cut to cover only your own sex? Can the wail of down-trodden
orphanage wake no pity in your heart,--or is it locked against me by
the cowardly dread of incurring the hate of the house of Laurance?"

For an instant a dark flush bathed the tranquil brow of the minister,
but his kind tone was unchanged when he answered slowly:

"Four years ago I was in doubt concerning my duty, but just now there
is clearly but one course for me to pursue. Unless you wish to make
an improper use of it, this paper which I very willingly hand to you
will serve your purpose. It is an exact copy of the license, and to
it I have appended my certificate, as the officiating clergyman who
performed the marriage ceremony. Examine it carefully, and you will
find the date, and indeed every syllable rigidly accurate. From the
original I shall never part, unless to see it replaced in the court
house records."

Bending down close to the lamp, she eagerly read and reread the paper
which shook like an aspen in her nervous grasp; then she looked long
and searchingly into the grave face beside her, and a sudden light
broke over her own.