The days were not long passed in which men who continued to be good
husbands and fathers and staunch friends killed their enemies, when
necessary, with a good conscience. Had O'Shea a good conscience now?
Would he continue to be in all respects the man he had been, and the
staunch friend of Josephine? In his heart Caius believed that Le Maitre
was murdered; but he had no evidence to prove it--nothing whatever but
what O'Shea's wife had said to him that day she was hanging out her
linen, and such talk occurs in many a household, and nothing comes of
it.
Now Josephine was free. "What a blessing!" He used the common idiom to
himself, and then wondered at it. Could one man's crime be another man's
blessing? He found himself, out of love for Josephine, wondering
concerning the matter from the point of view of the religious theory of
life. Perhaps this was Heaven's way of answering Josephine's appeal, and
saving her; or perhaps human souls are so knit together that O'Shea, by
the sin, had not blessed, but hindered her from blessing. It was a weary
round of questions, which Caius was not wise enough to answer. Another
more practical question pressed.
Did he dare to return now to Cloud Island, and watch over Josephine in
the shock which she must sustain, and find out if she would discover the
truth concerning O'Shea? After a good while he answered the question:
No; he did not dare to return, knowing what he did and his own cowardly
share in it.
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