He heard then a few words whispered as if to the portrait:  ’Father, oh, father, we were so happy with him!  It is almost the only time that we have been quite happy since you went away.’

The sense of the broken whispers came tardily to Courthope’s understanding through the smothering door.  The handle of the door was on a level with the hands that were bound to his sides; he turned himself in order to bring his fingers near it.

Before he touched it he heard Madge sob and whisper again:  ’I was so happy, father; I thought it was such fun he had come.  I like gentlemen, and we never, never see any except the ones that come out of books.’

To Courthope it suddenly seemed that the whole universe must have been occupied with purpose to bring him here in order to put an end to her gloom and flood her life with sunshine; the universe could not be foiled in its attempt.  Young love argues from effect to cause, and so limitless seemed the strength of his sentiment that the simplicity of her mind and the susceptibility of her girlhood were to him like some epic poem which arouses men to passion and strong deeds.  Ignominiously bound as he was, his heart lightened; all doubt of his mission to love her and its ultimate success passed from him.  He turned the handle and pushed the door half open.

The long drawing-room was almost dark; the shutters had not been opened; the furniture remained as it had stood when the brilliant assembly of the previous evening had broken up; the large fireplace was full of ashes; the atmosphere was deadly cold.  Courthope stood in the streak of light which entered with him.  Upon the floor, crouching, her cheek leaning against the lower part of her father’s picture, was Madge King.  She was dressed in a blanket coat; moccasins were upon her feet; a fur cap lay upon the ground beside her.  At the instant of his entrance she lifted her bare head, and across the face flushed with tears and prayers there flashed the look of haughty intolerance of his presence.  She had thought that he was locked up in one of the kitchens; she told him so, intensely offended that he should see her tears.  It was for that reason that she did not rise or come to the light, only commanding and imploring him to be gone.

‘I am quite helpless, even if I wanted to harm you.’  He spoke reproachfully, knowing instinctively that if she pitied him she would accept his pity.

‘You have harmed us enough already,’ she sighed; ’all the rest of our silver, all my dear father’s silver is gone.  We found that out this morning, for what we had used for the feast had been put in a basket until we could store it away; it is all taken.’

He was shocked and enraged to hear of this further loss.  He did not attempt to reason with her; he had ceased to reason with himself.

‘You trusted me when you let me in last night,’ he said.  ’Don’t you think that you would have had some perception of it last night if I had been entirely unworthy?  Think what an utter and abominable villain I must be to have accepted your hospitality—­to have been so very happy with you——­’ So he went on appealing to her heart from the sentiments that arose in his own.