“No, sir!”
“Nor your father, nor your uncles?”
“No.”
“Elfrida, you have played a very treacherous part with me. You have pretended to be one of us; you have made false statements in regard to your persecutions in the cause of secession, and you have drawn out my confidence, only to turn upon me,” said Albert, bitterly.
“Anything more?” inquired Elfie.
“Is not that enough?” demanded Albert.
“Yes, but I would like to hear the whole charge before replying to it. Is that the whole charge?”
“Yes.”
“Then I deny it in toto. I have played no treacherous part by you. I never pretended to be one of you. It was yourself who took it for granted that I must be a Secessionist. I made no false statements about my persecutions in the cause of secession. I told you that our house was burned over our heads, and we had to escape for our lives. And you jumped to the conclusion that the outrage was perpetrated by the Unionists of our neighborhood. I did not seek to draw your confidence out. You bestowed it upon me freely. If I turn upon you now, it is as a loyal heart turns upon a rebel.”
“Elfrida, I won’t stand this!” hotly exclaimed her lover.