"Her mother secretly befriended her, and found her a place to stay in hiding until her child was born.
"Fortunately for the poor girl it was born dead, and then she set out upon a mission which she had sworn to accomplish—her revenge upon the man who had betrayed her.
"In the meanwhile her enraged father had shot the deceiver, and thinking him dead had fled the country.
"But the wicked deceiver was proof against his enemy's bullet. He was born to be hung, you see, sir, and he was proof against anything else.
"So he got well, and was clear out of the country before poor Jennie was on her feet again. She was sorely disappointed, but she bided her time."
Captain Ernscliffe began to look as if he took an interest in the history of the farmer's pretty daughter.
"She sought for him everywhere as far as her money would carry her," went on the detective, "but she never saw or heard of her enemy.
"At length her mother came to the city with her, and together they continued their unrelenting quest, for they both had sworn to take a terrible revenge upon the destroyer of innocence."
He paused a moment, and Captain Ernscliffe, half forgetful of his own troubles in this sorrowful story, exclaimed:
"Go on, Kidder. I am very much interested in Jennie Thorn's sad story."