"Ruin!—who dares"——
"Yes, ruin—has she not left my father's roof, followed you into this miserable city—left us all, refusing to go back"——
"Boy, boy, she has not—she has not. God help us all, she has not done this. Your father is pledged, solemnly pledged against it. Ralph, my dear boy, there is some mistake here; she cannot be so desperate."
"She left home on the very day with yourself, in the storm, when the snow and the ice cut one to the heart."
"Yes, I remember; the storm seemed of a piece with the rest; a hopeful heart would have frozen in it. I remember that storm well."
"But she has greater cause to remember it, for in its drifts was buried her good name forever; if it could have whitened over the infamy that fell on our house, I should have prayed the snows to be eternal!"
"Ralph, Ralph, this is terrible!"
"Terrible!" repeated the young man, "you should have thought how terrible before tempting that poor young creature to her ruin. The house is desolate as the grave. My mother wanders through it like a ghost; she is worn to a shadow mourning over the ruin of her child, for Lina was dear as her own child could"——
James Harrington struggled for voice; his pale features began to quiver; his lips parted; he grasped Ralph by the arm.
"Brother, brother, is it Lina who has left home?"