"It had to be, Ruth, I imagine. All the ugly factors had to be taken into consideration when the plan for re-making Phil and me was designed."
A grim smile touched the corners of the stern mouth.
"He left his fortune to you!"
"I cannot take it." Dale raised one hand as if pushing aside an insulting offering.
"John—I have my share—and my father's money. Think! Philip meant that you should prove your forgiveness by—finishing his work. I never saw greater anguish than in his desire. Can you, dare you, refuse?"
A mist rose in Dale's eyes. Ruth saw it, and it gave her courage.
Strangely enough, now that she groped toward this new man she saw before her, her aversion to the man she once knew was lost sight of. A dim fear arose that her sacrifice might escape him and her. Not through any unwillingness on their parts, but through a misunderstanding. She bravely strove to down the menace.
"John—I came to this house a few days ago to help a weak, erring woman, if I could. That is all I knew. Almost at once she made me see the strange thing that had happened here through the goodness of a strong man, and the simplicity of—a weak, but loving woman.
"All unknowingly I yearned to help her—save her, but she wanted to save herself more than I understood at first. She was so brave and direct; once she saw where her weakness had placed her and the man she loved, she was strong in her determination to right the wrong. For her, poor soul, there was but one way—she returned to her husband!
"John—she told me who you were. In some way she knew who I was. I was so distressed and surprised at the time that I did not question how she knew me—but she did and"—Ruth could not bring herself to say, "she gave you back to me."