It was the five hours of waiting that struck Mr. Thornton. He had not five hours to spare, himself; but one hour--two hours, of his hard penetrating intellectual, as well as bodily labour, did he give up to going about collecting evidence as to the truth of Higgins's story, the nature of his character, the tenor of his life. He tried not to be, but was convinced that all that Higgins had said was true. And then the conviction went in, as if by some spell, and touched the latent tenderness of his heart; the patience of the man, the simple generosity of the motive (for he had learnt about the quarrel between Boucher and Higgins), made him forget entirely the mere reasonings of justice, and overleap them by a diviner instinct. He came to tell Higgins he would give him work; and he was more annoyed to find Margaret there than by hearing her last words; for then he understood that she was the woman who had urged Higgins to come to him; and he dreaded the admission of any thought of her, as a motive to what he was doing solely because it was right.
"So that was the lady you spoke of as a woman?" said he indignantly to Higgins. "You might have told me who she was."
"And then, maybe, yo'd have spoken of her more civil than yo' did; yo'd getten a mother who might ha' kept yo'r tongue in check when yo' were talking o' women being at the root of all the plagues."
"Of course you told that to Miss Hale?"

It was the five hours of waiting that struck Mr. Thornton. He spent two hours himself going about collecting evidence of the truth of Higgins's story and the nature of his character. He tried not to be, but was convinced that all that Higgins had said was true.
And then the conviction touched the latent tenderness of his heart. The man's patience and generosity made him forget entirely the mere reasonings of justice. He came to tell Higgins he would give him work; and he was annoyed to find Margaret there because then he understood that she was the woman who had urged Higgins to come to him; and he was doing this not because of her, but solely because it was right.
'So that was the lady you spoke of?' said he indignantly to Higgins. 'You might have told me who she was.'
'And then, maybe, yo'd ha' spoken of her more civil than yo' did when yo' were talking o' women being at the root o' all plagues.'
'Of course you told that to Miss Hale?'
