"Nothing. Everything, I mean," groaned the Colonel. "No use. It's all up with us."
"It! What?"
No answer.
"I had better know. What is the use of hiding things from me?" asked Dorothea's gentle voice. "Perhaps I could help—somehow. Won't you tell me?"
"Nobody can do anything. My dear—I'm ruined. That's all. If I can't get nine hundred and eighty pounds by this day month,—I'm—I'm bankrupt!"
[CHAPTER XV]
THE SOMETHING THAT WAS WRONG
"NINE hundred and eighty pounds! That is a great deal," said Dorothea slowly. "Nearly one thousand pounds."
Then she drew a chair to his side, sat down, and laid one hand lightly on his knee. If he had been a more affectionate parent, she would have laid her head on his shoulder, partly to give and partly to receive comfort. For the threatening blow would fall upon her no less than upon him; though this was not Dorothea's first thought. But any manner of caress was rare between the two. She only ventured on a touch.