"The first
and only news I have had of her I found in the newspaper report
of the trial yesterday."
He still spoke calmly, but there was something in the look of his
eyes which showed me that he was suffering in spirit. A sudden
nervousness overcame me, and I was obliged to sit down.
"You knew Mary Mallinson, sir?" I asked, as quietly as I could.
"I am her brother."
I clasped my hands and hid my face in despair. Oh, the bitterness
of heart with which I heard him say those simple words!
"You were very kind to her," said the calm, tearless man. "In her
name and for her sake, I thank you."
"Oh, sir," I said, "why did you never write to her when you were
in foreign parts?"
"I wrote often," he answered; "but each of my letters contained a
remittance of money. Did Mary tell you she had a stepmother? If
she did, you may guess why none of my letters were allowed to
reach her. I now know that this woman robbed my sister. Has she
lied in telling me that she was never informed of Mary's place of
abode?"
I remembered that Mary had never communicated with her stepmother
after the separation, and could therefore assure him that the
woman had spoken the truth.
He paused for a moment after that, and sighed. Then he took out a
pocket-book, and said:
"I have already arranged for the payment of any legal expenses
that may have been incurred by the trial, but I have still to
reimburse you for the funeral charges which you so generously
defrayed.
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