"I'm sure I cannot imagine what it is."
"Marion, aren't we real sister and brother?"
The question was out at last, and as he asked it his eyes dropped, for he had not the courage to look into her face. He felt her start and give a shiver.
"Oh, Jack! what put that in your head," she said slowly.
"Never mind that. Tell me, are we real sister and brother or not?"
"Jack, we are not."
"Oh, Marion!" The words almost choked him, and for the moment he could say no more.
"We are not real sister and brother, Jack, but to me you will always be as a real brother," and Marion caught his hand and held it tightly.
"And—and mother isn't my—my real mother?" he faltered.
"No, Jack; she is only your foster mother. But she thinks just as much of you as if you were her real son. She has told me that over and over again."