“I must say they seemed happy enough together!” he added with a sigh.
“Well, that is all I have to tell you, Mr. Wynn. From that day to this I have neither seen nor heard aught of Anthony Pendennis and his daughter; but I fear there is no doubt that he has allowed her—possibly even encouraged her—to become involved with some of these terrible secret societies, that do no good, but incalculable harm. Perhaps he may have inspired her with an insane idea of avenging her mother; and now she has shared her mother’s fate!”
“I will not believe that till I have proof positive,” I said slowly.
“But how can you get such proof?” he asked.
“I don’t know yet; but I’m going to seek it—to seek her!”
“You will return to Russia?”
“Why, yes; I meant to do that all along; whatever you might have told me would have made no difference to that determination!”
“But, my dear young man, you will be simply throwing your life away!” he remonstrated.
“I think not, and it’s not very valuable, anyway. I thank you for your story, sir; it helps me to understand things a bit,—Anne’s motive, and her father’s; and it gives me a little hope that they may have escaped, for the time, anyhow. He evidently knew the neighborhood well, or he couldn’t have turned up at that meeting; and if once he could get her safely back to Petersburg, he could claim protection for them both at the Embassy, though—”