Land--the penal settlement." Gwen looked up furtively. No sign
on the unconscious face yet of anything beyond mere perplexity! She
resumed after the slightest pause:--"His young wife followed him out
there"--she wanted to say that a child of four was left behind, but her
courage failed her--"and lived with him. He was out of prison on what
is called ticket-of-leave."

She looked up again. Still no sign! But then--consider! Ruth Thrale had
always been kept in the dark about the convict. Gwen could not know
this, and was puzzled. Was there, after all, some other solution to the
problem? Anyhow, there was nothing for it now but to get on. "She lived
with him many years, and then, for some reason or other, we can't tell
what, he forged a letter from her father in England, saying that her
sister and her husband and her own child that she had left behind were
all drowned at sea."

At this point Gwen was quite taken aback by Mrs. Thrale saying:--"But
they were _not_ drowned?" It stirred up a wasps' nest of perplexities. A
moment later, she saw that it was a question, not a statement. She
herself had only said the letter was forged, not that it contained a
lie. How could she vouch for the falsehood of the letter without
claiming knowledge prematurely, and rushing into her disclosure too
quickly? An additional embarrassment was that, when again she looked up
at her hearer, she saw no sign of a clue caught--not even additional
bewilderment; rather the reverse.

She could, however, reply to a question:--"Mrs. Prichard believed that
they were, and continued to believe it. My father, whom I have told all
about it--all that I know--is of opinion that her husband managed to
prevent her receiving letters from her sister, and destroyed those that
came, which would have shown that she was still alive."

"Oh, God be good to us!" cried Widow Thrale. "That such wickedness
should be!"

"He was a monster--a human devil! And _why_ he did it Heaven only knows.
My father can think of nothing but that his wife wanted to return to her
family, and he wanted her to stay. Now, Widow Thrale, you will see why I
want you to help me. I think you will agree with me that it would be
right that the dear old lady should be undeceived."

Mrs. Thrale fidgeted uneasily. "Your ladyship knows best," she said.

"You think, perhaps," said Gwen, "that it would only give her needless
pain to know it now, when she has nothing to gain by it?"

"Yes--that is ri