Page:Salem - a tale of the seventeenth century (IA taleseventeenth00derbrich).pdf/268

 hame to England; an' I could na' rest easy for the fear he might track me out, an' tak' ye fra' me, ye wa' so like yer mither; an' sae I sold a' out again, an' took ship, an' kim to America, for I made sure he'd ne'er find me here."

"But, oh, grandmother!" said Alice, speaking in quick, eager tones; "is he—is my father—oh! tell me—is he living yet?"

"I dinna ken; I hae telled ye a' I ken aboot him."

"And you do not know that he is dead, then?—you never heard that he was?"

"I tell ye I dinna ken aught mair aboot the mon; I dinna want iver to hear o' him again."

"But I do," said Alice, rising proudly; "he is my father, and as such I will love and honor him, until I know he is unworthy of my love. I will seek him the world over, and not until I hear it confessed by his own lips will I believe this cruel story."

"Ye will seek him, did ye say, Alice? an' hoo?" asked the grandmother, with a contemptuous smile.

"I will cross the sea to find him, if I have