he now had him in his hand. "Why, it's plain," he
answered, "what can be _done_. She's no Christian, we both agree. It's
certain, too, that she chooses to say she is, or something like it.
There's just one person who has influence with her, to make her tell the
truth."

"Ha!" cried Agellius, starting as if an asp had bitten him.

Jucundus kept silence, and let the poison of the said asp work awhile in
his nephew's blood.

Agellius put his hands before his eyes; and with his elbows on his knees,
began moving to and fro, as if in intense pain.

"I repeat what I have said," Jucundus observed at length; "I do really
think that she imagines a certain young gentleman is likely to be in
trouble, and that she is determined to share the trouble with him."

"But it isn't true," cried Agellius with great vehemence; "it's not
true.... If she really is not a Christian, O my dear Lord, surely they
won't put her to death as if she was?"

"But if she has made up her mind to be in the same boat with you, and
_will_ be a Christian while you are a Christian, what on earth can we do,
Agellius?" asked Jucundus. "You have the whole matter in a nutshell."

"She does not love me," cried Agellius; "no, she has given me no reason to
think so. I am sure she does not. She's nothing to me. That cannot be the
reason of her conduct. _I_ have no power over her; _I_ could not persuade
her. What, what _does_ all this mean? and I shut up here?" and he began
walking about the little room, as if such locomotion tended to bring him
out of it.

"Well," answered Jucundus, "it is easy to ascertain. I suppose you _could_
be let out to see her."

But he was going on too fast; Agellius did not attend to him. "Poor, sweet
Callista," he exclaimed, "she's innocent, she's innocent; I mean she's not
a Christian. Ah!" he screamed out in great agony, as the whole state of
the case unrolled itself to his apprehension, "she will die though not a
Christian; she will die without faith, without love; she will die in her
sins. She will die, done to death by false report of accepting that, by
which alone she could be carried safely through death unto life. O my
Lord, spare me!" and he sank upon the ground in a collapse of misery.

Jucundus was touched, and still more alarmed. "Come, come, my boy," he
said, "you will rouse the whole neighbourhood. Give over; be a man; all
will be right. If she's not a Christian (and she's not), she shall not die
a Christian's death;