Eugene believed the wretch would resort to measures of this kind to vindicate himself. He was prepared for such action; he was fully resolved that, when the doctor made his first move, he should be arrested, and the whole matter passed upon by a court of justice. It was true, a conviction could not be expected; the doctor would escape upon a “reasonable doubt,” for the evidence was entirely circumstantial, and the connection between the parts was not perfect. But Dr. Lynch did not mention the subject. He drove furiously through the streets of Poppleton, as before; he ate good suppers at the Bell River House, and was as popular as ever with the multitude. He did not even sneer when Dick Birch or the Hungerfords were alluded to; he avoided all mention of them himself, but he spoke of them respectfully when compelled to speak. Hungerford waited weeks and months for the development of the doctor’s plan of redemption, assured that it was yet to come; but there was not the slightest demonstration in that direction. If he had known what thoughts and purposes filled the mind of the demigod of Poppleton--as he still was--he would have been better prepared for his politic silence. It was not possible that men so prominent as Eugene and Dr. Lynch could wholly avoid each other, or that Dick could entirely escape the presence of his intended murderer. They met in public places--in the church, in town meeting, in the library, in the streets, and not unfrequently at the social gatherings of the two villages. They bowed to each other; they even spoke upon indifferent topics when compelled to do so, and it was many weeks before the people discovered that the doctor had ceased to visit Pine Hill. The sufferer had the tact to explain everything in a plausible manner. He had given up Julia, and he left people to infer that his absence was caused by the severing of his relations with her. People were sorry for the doctor; they thought he ought to marry Julia, if he loved her; he was more popular than Dick Birch, blunt, honest, and plain-spoken as the latter was, and they sympathized with the doctor. Eugene was not satisfied with himself, in the mean time. It was wicked to let such a man as Dr. Lynch play upon the credulity of the people--to pass himself off as an honest man. It was trifling with the justice of God and man to allow a murderer at heart to go at large, to be petted by the public, to become the joy and the solace of young and innocent maidens, as well as old men and decrepit women; to be the counsellor, guide, and friend of all. It was true that his conduct, so far as was known, was unexceptionable; even the ministers, who thought the doctor was rather “fast,” did not believe he was a bad man.