Page:The Valley of Fear.pdf/148

Rh “You can do what you damn please about that,” said Barker defiantly.

The proceedings seemed to have come to a definite end so far as he was concerned; for one had only to look at that granite face to realize that no ‘peine forte et dure’ would ever force him to plead against his will. The deadlock was broken, however, by a woman’s voice. Mrs. Douglas had been standing listening at the half opened door, and now she entered the room.

“You have done enough for now, Cecil,” said she. “Whatever comes of it in the future, you have done enough.”

“Enough and more than enough,” remarked Sherlock Holmes gravely. “I have every sympathy with you, Madam, and I should strongly urge you to have some confidence in the commonsense of our jurisdiction and to take the police voluntarily into your complete confidence. It may be that I am myself at fault for not following up the hint which you conveyed to me through my friend, Dr. Watson; but at that time I had every reason to believe that you were directly concerned in the crime. Now I am assured that this is not so. At the same time, [146]