"It is quite
true my old neighbors would not accept you as Sheila Macklin. But
they need you; no other kind of a girl would so suit their need. And
you could not help loving them; nor they you, once they learned to
know you."
"I am sure I should love them," breathed Sheila.
"Then, as you are just the person they want and their home is just
the place you need for shelter, I am going to take you back with
me."
"Oh, Captain Latham! We--we can't do it. My name--somebody will some
time be sure to hear about me, and the dreadful secret will come
out."
"No, it won't," said Tunis doggedly. "There will be no secret, not
such as you mean, to come out."
She gazed upon him in open-eyed surprise, her lips parted, her face
aglow.
"You mean--"
"We'll leave Sheila Macklin sitting on this bench, if you will
agree. She need never be traced from this point. Let her drop out of
the ken of the whole world that knew her. The name can only bring
you harm; it has brought you harm. Through it you are threatened
with trouble, with disaster. Your whole future is menaced through
that name and the stain upon it."
She looked at him still, scarcely breathing. Latham did not realize
the power he held over this girl at the moment.
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