"Colonel Clifford," said Monckton, "all that is a woman's way. When she
is out of sight of you, and thinks over her desertion and her unfortunate
condition--neither maid, wife, nor widow--she will be angry with me if I
don't obtain her some compensation."
"She deserves compensation," said the Colonel, gravely.
"Especially if she holds her tongue," said Monckton.
"Whether she holds her tongue or not," said the Colonel. "I don't see
how I can hold mine, and you have already told my daughter-in-law. A
separation between her and my son is inevitable. The compensation
must be offered, and God help me, I'm a magistrate, if only to
compound the felony."
"Surely," said Monckton, "it can be put upon a wider footing than that;
let me think," and he turned away to the open window; but when he got
there he saw a lot of miners clustering about. Now he had no fear of
their recognizing him, since he had not left a vestige of the printed
description. But the very sight of them, and the memory of what they had
done to his dead accomplice, made him shudder at them.
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