"I do, I do, child," he replied, the hardness all gone from his voice. "I don't know why you did it. Only this I know, it was no fault of yours. Fate in some way stepped in between us, and—and—and I can feel it in the air"—he lifted his head and drew a long, deep breath—"I feel that we are still the friends, the——" he stopped, hesitating, flushed, and a tender light glowed in the blind eyes.
"Yes, Jack?" she whispered, longing to hear the word he had left unspoken.
"Who used to be so fond of each other," he ended lamely.
"But," cried the woman eagerly, "I must tell you why I did it. I did it——"
"Don't tell me, Lolie; I don't want to hear. I know now you must have had some good reason, that is enough for me. We can still be friends."
"But I must, I must. I did it to save Big Harry, poor old dad. He was caught in Hawksley's clutches and I sold myself to save him, and—and—and it was all no use," she sobbed. "He had cheated the pair of us. It broke dad's heart, and he died two months after you left the schooner."
"My God! If I had only known!" groaned the man, with miserable self-reproach. "And that's why! and that's why! I might have guessed something of the sort if I hadn't been such a cursed, jealous fool."
"I treated you shamefully, Jack," she whispered brokenly. "I ought to have given you a reason, but I couldn't. Shame held my tongue, and I let you go away without a word; but—but God knows I've been bitterly punished. No one could imagine what I have suffered with that demon—aye, and must continue to suffer."
"Can't anything be done, Lolie?"