Page:The Prime Minister by Hall Caine.djvu/146

122  But, Otto, my dear Otto——

 You must let me into that house to-night, Margaret, and then I—I will do the rest.

 [Getting close.] No, no! "What has been going on here has excited you—intoxicated you. You are not yourself to-night, Otto. You mustn't listen to what they say at the Club. This lust of crime is madness—insanity. It would overwhelm the world with darkness—Besides, it is all a mistake.

 What is a mistake, Margaret?

 About our father. His trial was in secret, and we never knew the truth.

 And what is the truth?

 He pleaded guilty.

 Guilty?

 Yes. He said he had never wished to do what he had done, but he had been threatened with the loss of his consulate—with beggary. So for his children's sake——