simple it is, the better."

"Well," Dan remarked, reflectively, "you wouldn't be wanting a plain,
poor kind of a home after all the grandeur you're used to, or I could
take you to my sister, Miss. She's married to a shipping clerk and lives
in a little two-family house up on Washington Heights. It's quiet and
clean and nobody'd think of looking for you there, but I guess maybe
you'd want something a bit more high-toned."

"No, it sounds splendid! Just what I am looking for." Willa paused.
"But do you think she will take me in? You see, I can't explain very
well."

"Explain nothin'!" Dan reddened swiftly. "Excuse me, Miss. Delia's no
more of a hand at askin' questions than me, and she's a good judge of
people. She can tell you're a lady in a minute, and she'll make you more
than welcome if you can put up with the plainness of everything. I'll
have you there in ten minutes."

Dan was as good as his word, and Willa found that he had spoken truly.
His sister proved to be a thin, pleasant-faced woman with a humorous
curve to her lips and alert twinkling brown eyes. She was ready and
willing to take Dan's employer as a lodger and the terms were quickly
arranged.

Willa gave Dan his instructions, and then shut herself in the clean,
sunny room which had been allotted to her and looked the situation
collectedly in the face.

The more she thought of the astounding tale of the previous night and
strove in vain to find the slightest corroboration of it in her memory,
the more deep sank the roots of her conviction of its fallacy. She had
not realized how desperate Wiley's determination was to oust her from his
path, nor dreamed that he would risk forged testimony, but now at length
she had measured the strength of her adversary and her own courage rose
in a dauntless tide to meet his challenge.

In the beginning the Murdaugh name had meant nothing to her and the
inheritance merely a means to an end, but now with Angie's scornful words
heard through the closed door ringing in her ears, she made up her mind
to fight! Not for the sake of position or name or wealth, but for the
"common" brave-hearted mother whose child she felt herself to be beyond
peradventure of a doubt, and about whose memory all unconsciously a
worshiping love had sprung in her heart.

Meanwhile, pursuant to instructions, Dan had presented himself at the
imposing offices of North, Manning and Gilchrist, armed with the note
which Willa had writ