‘Her name is my name,’ he said, clenching his fist in his violence, ’and my name is hers.  She can have no good name distinct from me,—­no name at all.  She is part and parcel of my very self, and under no circumstances will I consent that she shall be torn away from me.  No word from any human being shall persuade me to it,—­unless it should come from herself.’

‘We can make her,’ said the old man.

‘No doubt we could get an order from the Court,’ said the attorney, thinking that anything might be fairly said in such an emergency as this; ’but it will be better that she should come of her own accord, or by his direction.  Are you aware how probable it is that you may be in prison within a day or two?’

To this Caldigate made no answer, but turned round to leave the room.  He paused a moment at the doorway to think whether another word or two might not be said in behalf of his wife.  It seemed hard to him, or hard rather upon her, that all the wide-stretching solid support of her family should be taken away from her at such a crisis as the present.  He knew their enmity to himself.  He could understand both the old enmity and that which had now been newly engendered.  Both the one and the other were natural.  He had succeeded in getting the girl away from her parents in opposition to both father and mother.  And now, almost within the first year of his marriage, she had been brought to this terrible misery by means of disreputable people with whom he had been closely connected!  Was it not natural that Robert Bolton should turn against him?  If Hester had been his sister and there had come such an interloper what would he have felt?  Was it not his duty to be gentle and to give way, if by any giving way he could lessen the evil which he had occasioned.  ’I am sorry to have to leave your presence like this,’ he said, turning back to Mr. Bolton.

‘Why did you ever come into my presence?’

’What has been done is done.  Even if I would give her back, I cannot.  For better or for worse she is mine.  We cannot make it otherwise now.  But understand this, when you ask that she shall come back to you, I do not refuse it on my own account.  Though I should be miserable indeed were she to leave me, I will not even ask her to stay.  But I know she will stay.  Though I should try to drive her out, she would not go.  Good-bye, sir.’  The old man only shook his head.  ‘Good-bye, Robert.’

’Good-bye.  You had better get some lawyer as soon as you can.  If you know any one in London you should send for him.  If not, Mr. Seely here is as good a man as you can have.  He is no friend of mine, but he is a careful attorney who understands his business.’  Then Caldigate left the room with the intention of going at once to Mr. Seely.

But standing patiently at the door, just within the doorway of the house, he met a tall man in dark plain clothes; whom he at once knew to be a policeman.  The man, who was aware that Caldigate was a county magistrate, civilly touched his hat, and then, with a few whispered words, expressed his opinion that our hero had better go with him to the mayor’s office.  Had he a warrant?  Yes, he had a warrant, but he thought that probably it might not be necessary for him to show it.  ’I will go with you, of course,’ said Caldigate.  ’I suppose it is on the allegation of a man named Crinkett.’