There could be no doubt in her mind as to what her sister meant, and regardless of consequences, she bent down and whispered:
“I know,—I understand. Rossie is not dead. She is alive and coming home.”
“How do you know? Have you seen the letter?” Josephine almost shrieked, and Agnes replied:
“Yes, I found it under the carpet long ago, just after I came here, but I did not suppose that you had ever seen it.”
“I had; I did; I put it there,” Josephine said, gasping out the story of her having taken it from the office, and the hiding it afterward. “And you found it? Where is it now?” she asked, and Agnes replied:
“I gave it to Miss Belknap, and she——”
Agnes did not finish, for Josephine started upright in bed, exclaiming:
“I see; I know. She went suddenly to Europe,—to find Rossie; tell me the truth. Has she found her, and is she coming home, and what will it be for him?”
Agnes knew that by him Dr. Matthewson was meant, and she replied unhesitatingly:
“State prison for him and poverty for you.”