There was a piercing cry in the body of the court, and in a moment Emily
was carried out half fainting and half hysterical.
The judge then calmly proceeded to pass sentence. He dwelt upon the
enormity of my crime in one so well connected and so far removed from
the dangers of mere vulgar temptations. He dwelt also upon the vandalism
of which I had been guilty--myself a collector--in clipping and defacing
a valuable and unique memorial of antiquity, the property of the nation.
He did not wish to be severe upon a young man of hitherto blameless
character; but the national collection must be secured against such a
peculiarly insidious and cunning form of depredation. The sentence of
the court was that I should be kept in--
Five years' penal servitude.
Crushed and annihilated as I was, I had still strength to utter a single
final word. "My lord," I cried, "the missing Wulfric will yet be found,
and will hereafter prove my perfect innocence."
"Remove the prisoner," said the judge, coldly.
They took me down to the courtyard unresisting, where the prison van was
standing in waiting.
On the steps I saw Emily and her mother, both crying bitterly. They had
been told the sentence already, and were waiting to take a last farewell
of me.
"Oh, Harold!" Emily cried, flinging her arms around me wildly, "it's all
my fault! It's my fault only! By my foolish stupidity I've lost your
case. I've sent you to prison. Oh, Harold, I can never forgive myself.
I've sent you to prison. I've sent you to prison."
"Dearest," I said, "it won't be for long. I shall soon be free again.
They'll find the Wulfric sooner or later, and then of course they'll let
me out again."
"Harold," she cried, "oh, Harold, Harold, don't you see? Don't you
understand? This is a plot against you. It isn't lost. It isn't lost.
That would be nothing. It's stolen; it's stolen!"
A light burst in upon me suddenly, and I saw in a moment the full depth
of the peril that surrounded me.