“After he had gone I sat in the office trembling for the result.
“He came back at last, after what seemed to me an interminable length of time, and told me to go home. Mamma took me in her arms and tried to console me, but papa ignored my presence entirely and refused to speak to me for months.
“When Jack came to trial they brought his wife to appear against him; that is, it went against him, of course. She was a sweet young woman, just the age that I am now, twenty-one years, and he had married her as soon as she came out of the convent. I was not able to go on the witness stand, the shock of the whole thing had proved too much for me, so they took my deposition and the trial went on without me.”
“What was the result of the trial?” I asked.
“He was sentenced to a term in Joliet, and is serving his time there now, and I never want to see his hateful face again.
“His wife came to see me and brought her little year-old girl with her. The dear little thing was as bright and sweet as she could be, and my heart went out to both of them. Later, Jack’s mother came to see me, bent and worn with her grief and the disgrace her only son had brought upon her.”
“And what became of the other girl?”
“Oh, she died of a broken heart, so they say. What a world of misery one man can create!
“I was very ill for a long time, and when I recovered my father felt very differently toward me; he seemed to be reconciled to the affair, and I was fully forgiven.
“I simply existed for two years, not caring for anything. I met Harold about this time, and you know the rest.