“Heard what?” whispered Dick.
“What these men told you,” said Tom bitterly.
“Do you dare to say—”
“I say nothing, uncle—only that what those men have said is true.”
“Here!” cried Dick furiously, “mother, quick!—tell Jessie to come here. Oh, you are there,” he cried, as, hearing a door close on the landing, he looked up and saw Jessie.
“Uncle, for Heaven’s sake think of what you are doing,” cried Tom, catching his arm.
“I am thinking, sir, of clearing her name. My girl would not be guilty of—”
He stopped short; for he recalled the little incident in the old home.
“I don’t care,” he cried passionately. “I’m driven to it, and it shall be sifted to the bottom.”
As he spoke, he ran up the stairs, closely followed by Max and his private inquirers.