daughter.

This was all well enough if Mr. Heath was what he appeared to be, and his
intentions were honorable.

But he could never quite divest himself of the feeling that there was
something rather mysterious in his desire to remain in that remote region,
and it would be terrible if any harm should result from it to his one ewe
lamb.

He had always guarded her so tenderly and carefully no breath of evil,
scarce a sorrow, save their one great sorrow, had ever touched her. Once
or twice the thought had come to him, prompted, no doubt, by the
circumstances which had driven him to that place, that the man might have
become entangled in some wrong or crime, and was hiding, like himself,
from the world and justice; and yet it was difficult to fancy that he was
not all that was honorable and upright, for his life and conduct from day
to day were beyond reproach.

"If they love each other, and he is all he seems, I could give her to
him, and feel more content than I ever thought to be," he said to himself,
while brooding upon the subject one afternoon while Virgie and her lover
were out on a ramble. "She would be far better off under the care and
protection of a kind husband, than she would be to send her to New York.
Her future would be settled, and there would be no fear on account of the
snares and temptations of society in the gay city.

"Still I really know nothing about him. He says nothing about himself, his
home, or his family. If it should turn out that he has a suspicion that
she will have money, and he is seeking her for that, it would be a fearful