By stipulation,
the newly-acknowledged marriage is not to be made public.
Hardin, pale and thoughtful, enters the court with his supporters.
There is but one young lady present. With her, Peyton, Judge Davis,
and Joseph Woods are seated. Raoul Dauvray seats himself quietly
between the two parties.
When the case is reached, there is the repression of a deathly
silence. Hardin, by the advice of his lawyers, will stand strictly
on the defensive. He has decided to acknowledge his entire readiness
to close his guardianship. He will leave the heirship to be finally
adjusted by the Court. The Court is under his thumb.
His senatorial duties call for this relief. It will take public
attention from the unpleasant matter. Rid of the burden of the
ranch, still the "bonanza of Lagunitas" will be his, as always.
The great lawyer he relies on states plausibly this entire
willingness to such a relief, and requests the Court to appoint a
successor to the distinguished trustee. Hardin feels that he has
now covered his past with a solid barrier. Safe at last. No living
man can roll away the huge rock from the "tomb of the dead past."
It would need a voice from the grave. He can defy the whole world.
No thought of his dead friend haunts him.
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