“He knew it by opening your letter, reading the contents, and then destroying it. That letter, Dolly, I never saw, nor did I see the three which preceded it. I also sent you three letters, of which I never heard.”
Now that the way was opened, full explanations quickly followed. There could be no earthly doubt that the last three letters sent by Ben Mayberry to Dolly Willard had been intercepted by Rutherford Richmond, who had not hesitated to do the same with those sent by Dolly, though most probably he had simply destroyed the three, and read only the last.
“You risked your life to save mine and that of my mother,” she said in a tremulous voice, “and it was an awful thing for you to believe I could ever fail to think more of you than of anyone else in the world.”
“I guess I shall have to own up,” laughed the happy Ben; “but we were both placed in a false position.”
“But we shall never be again——”
“Dolly, Dolly! Where are you?”
The cries came from a gay party of misses who came trooping forth to look for the belle, whose absence so long from her friends had attracted inquiry.
She sprang up.
“Good-by, Ben; I must go.”
She caught his hand and returned the pressure, then hurried out and met her young friends, who escorted her back to the house, while Ben quietly departed without attracting attention.