Sigh after sigh
escaped his thin lips, as he read the piteous appeals, and knew that he
must refuse them; must deal out fresh misery against his will. It was
hard to be the tool of such a merciless fiend; to be the servant of such
a master of deceit, villainy and fraud; but so greatly did the father
love his child that he would scarce have hesitated in committing a
murder had Jasper Vermont set that crime as a price of his forbearance
and silence. He would have purchased his daughter's safety and happiness
with his heart's blood, if need be.
Unconscious of the release that was so fast approaching, he worked on,
setting in order the various accounts which Vermont would require to be
laid before him on the following day; and entering in a book concise
histories of the debts and difficulties which placed dozens of Jasper's
acquaintances within his power.
A knock at the door startled him, and roused him from his task. Hastily
shutting the ledger before which he was seated, and covering the deeds
and documents with a large sheet of paper, the old man rose and opened
the door.
It was his son-in-law, John Ashford, and at the sight of his round,
kindly face, Harker staggered back, and clutched at the table.
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