"'Dead!' I exclaimed aghast.
"'Yes, sir?' she answered sadly. 'The plague, two years ago, took my father and my two sisters. Sad times here then.'
"'And the mother?' I asked trembling.
"'O, she, poor thing, died nine years ago. She doted on her only son, who joined the wicked "Mormons," and it broke her heart. She just wilted like a flower and died.'
"I grasped the railing of the porch for support.
"'You're pale, sir!' she exclaimed in sudden pity. 'Did you know them? Who are you?'
"'Don't you know me?' I cried in agony of spirit. I'm your brother—Mon!'
"For a moment she looked at me in dismayed astonishment, then her face contracted in anger. She lifted her arm, and pointed to the gate.
"'How dare you enter here! You killed your mother, broke your father's heart! Have you come back to torment me?'
"'I have come to help you,' I answered brokenly. 'To help all—but only you are left. Oh, listen to what I have to tell you—in our mother's name, listen!' I pleaded.