”Andtheyaccuseheroftakingherownlife?Theirverdictisalie。Theydidnotknowher。”Then，aftersomemomentsofwildandconfusedfeeling，hedeclared，withadesperateeffortatself-control：”Yousaidthatsomebelievethis。Thentheremustbeotherswhodonot。Whatdotheysay?””Nothing。Theysimplyfeelasyoudo。Theyseenoreasonfortheactandnoevidenceofherhavingmeditatedit。Herfatherandherfriendinsistbesides，thatshewasincapableofsuchahorror。Themysteryofitiskillingusall；meaboveothers，forI’vehadtoshowyouacheerfulface，withmybrainreelingandmyheartlikeleadinmybosom。”
Sheheldoutherhands。Shetriedtodrawhisattentiontoherself；
notfromanysentimentofegotism，buttobreak，ifshecould，thestrainoftheseinsupportablehorrorswheresoshortatimebeforeHopesangandLiferevelledinre-awakenedjoys。
Perhapssomefaintrealisationofthisreachedhim，forpresentlyhecaughtherbythehandsandbowedhisheaduponhershoulderandfinallyletherseathimagain，beforehesaid：”Dotheyknowof-ofmyinterestinthis?””Yes；theyknowaboutthetwo0。B。s。””Thetwo-”Hewasonhisfeetagain，butonlyforamoment；hisweaknesswasgreaterthanhiswillpower。”OrlandoandOswaldBrotherson，”sheexplained，inanswertohisbrokenappeal。”Yourbrotherwroteletterstoheraswellasyou，andsignedthemjustasyoudid，withhisinitialsonly。Theseletterswerefoundinherdesk，andhewassupposed，foratime，tohavebeentheauthorofallthatweresosigned。Buttheyfoundoutthedifferenceafterawhile。YourswereeasilyrecognisedaftertheylearnedtherewasanotherO。B。wholovedher。”
Thewordswereplainenough，butthestrickenlistenerdidnottakethemin。Theycarriednomeaningtohim。Howshouldthey?Theveryideashesoughttoimpressuponhimbythisseeminglycarelessallusionwasanincredibleone。Shefounditherdreadfultasktotellhimthehard，baretruth。”Yourbrother，”saidshe，”wasdevotedtoMissChalloner，too。Heevenwantedtomarryher。Icannotkeepbackthisfact。Itisknowneverywhere，andbyeverybodybutyou。”Orlando?”Hislipstookanironicalcurve，asheutteredtheword。