"Thank God for the deliverance!"
"Ay, and for a greater mercy than life. The wretch did make confession to Father White, and of what, thinkst thou?"
"Oh, Mother," cried Cecil, unable to curb his impatience another moment, "it was he who killed Father Mohl."
"I know."
"Thou knowest? In God's name, how didst thou know?" Neville exclaimed.
"The emerald tag."
Margaret Brent had entered unperceived, and now her questioning eyes said, "Who wore it?"
"Ralph Ingle, to-day, on his left arm, as if it were a badge to be proud of,—he, the man whose presence I tolerated, whose hateful love-making I permitted. Oh, Christopher, canst thou forgive me?"
"Forgive? Dearest, I love thee!"
"And canst thou forgive one who cannot lay claim to that mantle of love that covers all sins?"