"Yes, last night," she returned impressively, setting the lid of the tea-kettle firmly in its place. "Did you ever think that you did wrong in writing to her so many years and then stopping short all of a sudden, giving her no reason at all?"
"Do you mean that has changed her, and hurt her?" he asked, in extreme surprise.
"I do. I mean that. I mean that you gained her affections and then left her," she returned with severity.
Hollis was now trembling in every limb, strong man as he was; he caught at the back of a chair, and leaned on his two hands as he stood behind it gazing into her face with mute lips.
"And now, what do you intend to do?"
"I never did that! It was not in my heart to do that! I would scorn to do it!" he declared with vehemence.
"Then what did you do?" she asked quietly.
"We were good friends. We liked to write to each other. I left off writing because I thought it not fair to interfere with Morris."
"Morris! What did he have to do with it?"
"She wears his ring," he said in a reasoning voice.