"Father was there, to-night."
"At the lion-show? Impossible! Mr. Gregory go to a—a—to—a—"
"Yes, it is possible for him even to go to a show. But to do him justice, he was forced under the tent, he had no intention of doing anything so wicked as that, he only meant to do some little thing like running away—But no, I can't speak of him with bitterness, now. Abbott, he seems all changed."
Abbott murmured, as if stupefied, "Mr. Gregory at a show!"
"Yes, and a lion-show. When it was over he came to me—he was so excited—"
"So was I," spoke up the other—"rather!"
"You didn't show it. I thought maybe you wouldn't care if I had been eaten up….No, no, listen. He wanted to claim me—he called me 'daughter' right there before the people, but they thought it was just a sort of—of church name. But he was wonderfully moved. I left the tent with him, and we had a long talk—I came from him to you. I never saw anybody so changed."
"But why?"
"You see, he thought I was going to be killed right there before his eyes, and seeing it with his very own eyes made him feel responsible. He told me, afterwards, that when he found out who it was in the cage, he thought of mother in a different way,—he saw how his desertion had driven her to earning her living with showmen, so I could be supported. All in all, he is a changed man."
"Then will he acknowledge you?—but no, no,…"