Judge Brewster advanced and patted him kindly on the back.
"Good boy!" he said. "Now, Mrs. Jeffries, I'll tell your husband the truth."
"No!" she cried.
"Then I'll tell him without your permission," he retorted. Turning to the young man, he went on: "Howard, your wife is an angel! She's too good a woman for this world. She has not hesitated to sacrifice her good name, her happiness to shield another woman. And that woman—the woman who called at Underwood's room that night—was Mrs. Jeffries, your stepmother!"
Howard started back in amazement.
"It's true, then, I did recognize her voice!" he cried.
Turning to his wife, he said: "Oh, Annie, why didn't you tell me? You saved my stepmother from disgrace, you spared my father! Oh, that was noble of you!" In a low tone he whispered: "Don't send me away from you, Annie! Let me stay and prove that I'm worthy of you!"
To the young wife it all seemed like a dream, almost too good to be real. The dark, troubled days were ended. A long life, bright with its promise of happiness, was before them.
"But what of the future, Howard?" she demanded gently.
Judge Brewster answered the question.