At length Hammond Brake rose to go. I wished him good night, but
did not offer to accompany him to the door. My wife supplied this
omitted courtesy, as I had expected. The moment I was alone I
picked up the book leaf from the floor. It was NOT the leaf of a
volume of poems. Beyond that, however, I learned nothing. It
contained a string of paragraphs printed in the biblical fashion,
and the language was biblical in style. It seemed to be a portion
of some religious book. Was it possible that my wife was being
converted to the Romish faith? Yes, that was it. Brake was a
Jesuit in disguise--I had heard of such things--and had stolen into
the bosom of my family to plant there his destructive errors.
There could be no longer any doubt of it. This was some portion of
a Romish book--some infamous Popish publication. Fool that I was
not to see it all before! But there was yet time. I would forbid
him the house.
I had just formed this resolution when my wife entered. I put the
strange leaf in my pocket and took my hat.
"Why, you are not going out, surely?" cried Elsie, surprised.
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