"I have never particularly felt it as a duty; and besides my first husband--' She stopped and there was some confusion in her voice. Stockdale was so honest and unsophisticated that he did not at once discern why she paused: but at last he did perceive that the words were a slip and that no woman would have uttered 'first husband' by accident unless she had thought pretty frequently of a second. He felt for her confusion and allowed her time to recover and proceed. 'My husband' she said in a self-corrected tone 'used to know of their doings and so did my father and kept the secret. I cannot inform in fact against anybody.' 'I see the hardness of it' he continued like a man who looked far into the moral of things. 'And it is very cruel that you should be tossed and tantalized between your memories and your conscience. I do hope Mrs. Newberry that you will soon see your way out of this unpleasant position.' 'Well I don't just now' she murmured. By this time they had passed over the wall and entered the house where she brought him a glass and hot water and left him to his own reflections. He looked after her vanishing form asking himself whether he as a respectable man and a minister and a shining light even though as yet only of the halfpenny-candle sort were quite justified in doing this thing."