It was without date or address; a startling letter to look at—for it only contained three words:
“I say No.”
The words were signed in initials:
“S. J.”
In the instant when she read the initials, the name occurred to her.
Sara Jethro.
CHAPTER LXIII. THE DEFENSE OF MIRABEL.
The discovery of the letter gave a new direction to Emily’s thoughts—and so, for the time at least, relieved her mind from the burden that weighed on it. To what question, on her father’s part, had “I say No” been Miss Jethro’s brief and stern reply? Neither letter nor envelope offered the slightest hint that might assist inquiry; even the postmark had been so carelessly impressed that it was illegible.
Emily was still pondering over the three mysterious words, when she was interrupted by Mrs. Ellmother’s voice at the door.