"I'll tear her in pieces for it!" I cried, angrily; and my teeth ground together, and my fists involuntarily clinched.
"No, no, brother! Don't say anything about it," pleaded Flora. "Perhaps it was my fault; I contradicted her. She said you stole the money from the letter, and I persisted that you did not. O, Buckland, that was awful—to say you were a thief! I could not bear it."
"I am not a thief!"
"But have you some money?"
"I have."
"Where did you get it?" she asked, anxiously.
"I cannot tell them where I got it. I will tell you a little; but you must not breathe a word of it to any one."
"I will not, Buckland."
"I saved the life of a gentleman who had been drinking too much; and he gave me the money. He made me promise that I would not tell any one about it."
"Who was he?" asked she, excited by my story.