“Mother,” cried the boy passionately, “I have not sinned in this!”
“Ah!—Then what is it?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Frank, if ever there was a time when mother and son should be firmly tied in mutual confidence, it is now. I have no one to cling to but you, and you hold me at a distance like this.”
“Yes, yes; but I cannot tell you.”
“You think so, my boy; but don’t keep it from me.”
“Mother,” cried Frank wildly, “I must!”
“You shall not, my boy. I will know.”
“I cannot tell you.”
He held out his hands to her imploringly, but she drew back from him, and her eyes seemed to draw the truth he strove so hard to keep hidden from his unwilling lips.