Page:Lynch Williams--The stolen story and other newspaper stories.djvu/304

 told her about the group of well-born young Englishmen out there in the West, one or two of whom had left titles and stories in England, making them interesting to young girls. So now he began to talk. He talked well. He knew she would talk later on when he was ready for it.

First his talk was calm; it was merely to establish his fictitious identity in her mind, and win her confidence. This was easy for Woods, who was now warming up to his part like an actor when he feels he has the attention and good-will of the house. Then he began to work upon her sympathies. Soon he had her under-lip trembling at the picture of ruin which the failure of the firm was about to bring upon him, the sole support of that old mother he had described to her unless he found out whether or not her father … "But, of course," he interrupted himself, dropping his dark eyes, "I would not for the world have you tell even me about it unless you yourself feel that under the circumstances, the peculiar circumstances, I have a full right to know. I trust I am not asking too much? If I