"I am sorry for him," said the lady; "very sorry."
"He is not deserving of your sympathy, madam; he treated your son with great cruelty while he had him."
"But he saved Ralph's life."
"That is no doubt true, yet he stole the jewelry from the child's person and kept him only for the sake of obtaining ransom.
"This reminds me that it is also true that he had an interview with your husband on the day of Mr. Burnham's death. What took place between them I cannot ascertain, but I have learned that afterward, while the rescuing party were descending into the mine, your husband recognized Ralph in a way that those who saw and heard him could not at the time understand. Recent events, however, prove beyond a doubt that your husband knew, on the day he died, that this boy was his son."
Mrs. Burnham had been weeping silently.
"You are bringing me too much good and comforting news," she said; "I am not quite able to bear it all, you see."
She was smiling through her tears, but a look of anxiety crossed her face as she continued:—
"I am worried about Ralph. He has not yet come from the breaker."
She glanced up at the little clock on the shelf, and then went to look out from the window.