"Oh!" It was all that the woman could say, but the tone in which it was uttered clearly expressed the agony of her soul.
"Yes, madame, you understand now my business. For some time I tried to enlighten people's minds by supplying them with good literature. But business is dull these days, so I have been forced to turn to something else for a living for me and mine. And I must say that this new business pays much better. I am a stand-between, and in that capacity I am here to-day."
"A stand-between! I do not know what you mean."
"Quite true, madame. It is hard for you, living so comfortably, to understand how difficult it is for some people to stand between those they love and poverty. I fear I have not done very well along that line in the past, though I am improving now."
"But what has all this to do with my daughter, of whom you speak?" Mrs. Hampton somewhat impatiently asked. "What right have you even to suggest that I have a daughter."
"Can you deny it?"
"Yes, I do."
"Madame! I am surprised at you."
"You need not be at all surprised, sir. I had a daughter once, but she has been dead for many years."
"Ah, madame, dead to you, perhaps, but not to others. Have you forgotten that?"