"I've never lied to you, Brother Horace," she replied gently.
"If I could believe you, child, if I could place absolute confidence in your word, I should have courage to go into the struggle without losing hope."
"What's Pappy Lon done?"
"He has employed Everett Brimbecomb to take you back to Ithaca."
Fledra shrank back as if he had struck her. Swiftly into her mind came the smiling, handsome face of the lawyer whom Ann loved. His brilliant eyes seared her soul like fire. In all her life, even when facing Lem Crabbe, she had never felt as she did now. She saw Floyd fading into the graveyard beyond, while she was being torn from the only haven of rest she had ever known. Lem Crabbe could not have taken her; but Everett Brimbecomb could! She felt again his burning kisses, the clasp of his strong arms, and her own disgust. He seemed a giant of strength, and Horace's white face and set lips aggravated her fear. Fledra's desire for comfort had never been so great as the desire she had at this moment to open her tired heart to Horace and reveal to him Everett's perfidy.
"Did you tell Sister Ann about Mr. Brimbecomb?"
She stumbled over the name.
"Yes."
"What did she say?"
"My sister loves him—you know that. She is heartbroken that he should have accepted this case. We must make it as easy as we can for her, dear child."