Page:Harold Macgrath--The girl in his house.djvu/157

 the old footing. He knew that from now on he would have to watch his words carefully, guard his thoughts. A casual word, a careless inflection, and the whole veil might be rended. Doris, tender and lovely!

On the way back to New York Armitage proceeded to destroy the papers, one by one. Bit by bit he cast them forth from the car window. He read the confession through again and again, and was about to rip it in two when he noticed for the first time that something had been pinned to the back.

It was Doris's last letter to her father.

,—This is to tell you a great secret. You remember once that you wrote me if I ever loved a man to let you know at once who and what he was. So I am keeping that promise. I love! It seems so wonderful that I can't just believe it. And who do you suppose? The young man whose house you bought! Isn't it just marvelous? He hasn't told me he loves me, but I think he does. It's the way he looks at me sometimes, when he thinks I'm not watching. He is good and kind and handsome. To me he is like some prince out of a fairy tale. Is it wrong to love the way I do, Daddy? I don't feel any shame in confessing it to you. No, no! It is glorious! Only, I think he's a little afraid of me at times. Please, please, come to me. Daddy! I want you. I hunger all the time for