"Let me pass."
"Listen to me," said the woman: "I want two hundred dollars. Pay the
money, and I will never tell of your visit here. If you refuse me, I'll
tell the story all over town."
"Do so," was the reply. "I will tell how I was led here, how I was
deceived, and I will have you arrested."
"My tale's the best," said the woman, defiantly. "I can prove your
presence in the parlor by every girl in the house, and those who saw
you in the hall will swear you came to my room with me. They will swear
to no lie, either, and nine people out of ten will believe my story
against yours. To say the least," she added, "it will fasten such a
suspicion on you as will ruin you with your congregation; so you'd
better pay me my money."
The minister was silent for a moment. He felt that his presence in that
place would give rise to a terrible suspicion, and he knew that a man
in his position could not afford to be suspected. However innocent he
might be, the faintest breath of scandal would injure him greatly. He
thought over the matter rapidly, and at last said:
"The sum you name is a very large one to me, and I could not pay you
to-night, were I inclined to do so. Give me until to-morrow to think of
it."
The woman's eyes sparkled, for she thought her victim would surely
yield.
"Where can I see you to-morrow?" she asked.
"At my residence, No.--W----street, at twelve o'clock," he said.
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