"Yes, I remember her. But she is dead. Why do you mention her—"
"Minda is not dead," said she slowly.
"Not—why, she was drowned in the—"
"No. Minda is alive. You saw her last night,—at Phineas Striker's house."
He started violently. "The girl I saw last night was—Minda?" he cried. "Why, Striker told me she was—"
"I know,—I know," she interrupted impatiently. "Striker told you what he believed to be true. He told you she was Robert Gwyn's daughter and your half-sister. But I tell you now that she is Minda Carter. There is not a drop of Gwyn blood in her body."
"Then, she is not my half-sister?" he exclaimed, utterly dazed, but aware of the exquisite sensation of relief that was taking hold of him.
"She is no blood relation of yours."
"But she is,—yes, now I understand,—she is my step-sister," he said, with a swift fall of spirits.
"I suppose that is what you might call her," said Rachel Gwyn, indifferently. "I have not given it much thought."