"Oh no!" Ruth said, opening her eyes wide. "Why, this was years and years ago! Father was caretaker of the great stores; we lived in rooms in the stores. And he married Ollie's mother, and I loved her very much. But she only lived a little while, she died when Ollie was a baby. She told me she gave Ollie to me, and that I must take care of him."
"Had she any relatives in Bordeaux?"
"She was an orphan; I don't think she had any relatives at all."
"Then you were father's little housekeeper?" said Ralph.
"Yes, but we had a servant. Ah, we were very happy; only father never was merry, you know. He said—"
"Well, child, go on."
"But you didn't know him, so you may think he had done something wrong. Nov, father couldn't have done anything really wrong. But he used to tell me that he deserved all his sorrows, and that the reason we were so poor was that he was saving money to pay some one; and 'then,' he said, 'I may be forgiven.'"
"Did he ever mention the name of his creditor?"
"No, never, sir. Well, one day father came home looking quite unhappy and excited. He said to me, 'Pack up all your clothes, and Ollie's and mine, in the big American trunk; for we must go to England, and perhaps we may never come back here again.' I asked why; but he said I would not understand, but that he had heard something which made him want to go to his father. I remember he said, 'I will wait no longer; surely he will forgive me now.' And he wrote cards to put on the trunk, and we came to Southampton in a ship belonging to the firm."
"And the address he wrote was to Southampton?"