“Do you mean that he did it on purpose?” The tone was one of blank amazement.  Esther’s hand was upon the gate but forgot to press the latch.  She was a quick brained girl and the insinuation in the minister’s words had been patent.  Yet that he should be capable of such an idea seemed incredible!  Had he been looking at her he would have seen the clear red surge over her face from neck to brow and then recede, but not before it had lighted a danger spark in her eyes.

“You did mean that!” She went on before he could answer.  The scorn in her voice stung.  But the Reverend Angus was not a coward.

“That was my meaning.  You are a young and inexperienced girl.  You go upon an excursion with a man whom none of us know.  An accident, a very peculiar accident, happens.  You are led to believe that the damage is serious, but later, when the matter is investigated, it is found to have been trifling.  What is the natural inference?  What have you to say?”

“It has been said before,” calmly.

“Well—­”

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

They faced each other, the man and the girl.  And the man’s eyes fell.

“God forbid that I should do so,” he murmured.

Esther’s face softened.  Her anger was not proof against humility.

“If you are really disturbed about it,” she said slowly, “I can reassure you.  You say that you do not know Dr. Callandar.  But I do know him.  The whole situation rests upon that.  He is a man incapable of the caddish villainy you impute.  Why he could not repair the car, I cannot say.  I think,” with a smile, “that he does not know quite as much about cars as he thinks he does.  But he did his best, I know that!  When we found his efforts useless we took the only course possible and made at once for the canoe.  We had to steal it, you remember, but the doctor showed no faltering in that.  He was also prepared to shoot the dog.  And you have my word for it that he made no attempt to swamp the canoe or to otherwise complicate matters.  I arrived at Mrs. Burton’s by ten minutes past nine.  She was delighted to see me.  Dr. Callandar walked over to the station and sent telegrams to Aunt Amy and Mrs. Sykes.  He returned to Coombe upon the morning train.  I remained with Mrs. Burton and came back in time for school on the milk train Monday morning.  That is the whole story of the adventure and, to be frank, I enjoyed it immensely.”

The minister shook his head, but he could say no more.  His attitude had not changed, yet he felt a sense of shame before the straightforward honesty of Esther’s outlook.  She had no sense of the evil of the world.  That very fact seemed to make the world less evil.

“When will Mrs. Coombe be back?” he asked abruptly.

Immediately the girl’s frank look clouded.  “I do not know,” she said.  “She hardly ever tells me when she is returning.  She may be at home any day now.  You know how impulsively she acts.”