"Oh, speak! What has happened?"
"My daughter, he is unworthy of you, he has proven himself a villain."
"Proven himself a villain! why, what do you mean? Answer me!" Her face became deathly pale, and she tottered as if about to fall.
"He has—I cannot speak it, for I am affected as never before—but you must know the worst—George Alden has stolen five thousand dollars from the bank."
There was a wild shriek, and Belle fell sobbing into her mother's arms.
"It is—it is false! he never committed a crime." Rising quickly, with excited voice she asked: "And—and where is he?"
"Alas, my child, he has absconded. I befriended him, making good the amount, and the crime is known only to the teller and myself."
"Father," exclaimed Belle, "this awful crime is yours, not his; you have conspired to defame as pure a man as ever lived,—and you have killed his wife."
"His wife! My God, Belle, what do you mean?"