"And if you do not believe me," she continued, in a shrill voice, "tear from your neck that bag made of your unhappy father's skin, and you will find in it all that remains of him."
With a feverish movement the young girl drew out the bag, which she squeezed convulsively.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "no! no! it is impossible; such atrocities could not be committed."
Suddenly her tears ceased, she looked fixedly at the She-wolf, and said, in a harsh voice—
"How do you know all this? The man who told it you lied."
"I was present," the She-wolf said, coldly,
"You were present? You witnessed this horrible scene?"
"Yes, I did."
"Why?" she asked, madly. "Answer, why?
"Why?" she said, with an accent of supreme majesty; "because I am your mother, child."