“You had only to ask——” “Do you think,” Anna interrupted, with a note of passion trembling also in her tone, “that I would have taken alms from Sir John, the man to whom I had lied for your sake. Then he had gone away. Rather a hazardous spot for a convalescent, and McClintock had been doubtful at first; but Spurlock declared that he was a good sailor, which was true. And if one were to love some one very much, it’s just so that one would be blindest, just when one wanted most to see. Wood is now in very affluent circumstances. I didn’t see everything last time. She moved her elbow nearer to him and spoke in a still lower tone. After all, this could never be the black sheep. The house will be well rid of him, for a more idle, good-for-nothing reprobate never crossed its threshold. At this moment, his quick ears detected the sound of footsteps on the stairs.