John Strong nodded like a judge.
“Let me assure you, madam, that you have my sympathy,” he said.
Miss Saker pressed her hand tragically to her forehead and aped the manner of a popular actress whom she admired.
“How dreadful a thing it is,” she observed, “to find that one has been deceived!”
“Most painful, madam.”
“Your son, Mr. Strong—”
“My son, yes, madam.”
“Was absolutely innocent, as was the girl whose honor they traduced.”
Miss Saker’s brown eyes were fixed expectantly upon the old man’s face. She had promised herself some dramatic excitement in watching the effect of her disclosures upon Gabriel’s father. The result was less sensational than she could have imagined. She saw the old man sink more deeply into his chair. His head was bowed down over his chest, and there was a sudden spasm as of pain upon his face.
“Please explain,” he said, in a strange voice.