"At that time Will Rogers was one of the most promising and manly of the country lads around here.He was desperately in love with me，and at this period，when I seemed completely cut off from my old life and the future contained no promise，I thought it best to wear out the remainder of my existence in the seclusion of a farm—house.I put all the past behind me，and told Will Rogers I would marry him and be a faithful wife；but that my heart was dead.He accepted me onthat condition，and it was not until after we were married sometime that my husband realized how impossible it would ever be to arouse my affection.Then he lost courage，and became careless and reckless.When our child came—our Lucy—Will was devoted to her，and the baby wakened in me all the old passionate capacity to love.Lucy drew Will and me a little closer together，but he never recovered his youthful ambition.He was a disappointed man，and went from bad to worseb.I don't say Will hasn't always been tender and true to me，and absolutely devoted to Lucy.But he lost all hope of being loved as he loved me，and the disappointment broke him down.He became an old man early in life，and his lack of energy kept us very poor.I used to take in sewing before the accident tomy eyes，and that helped a good deal to pay expenses.But now I am helpless，and my husband devotes all his time to me，although I beg him to work the farm and try to earn some money.
"I wouldn't have minded the poverty；I wouldn't mind being blind，even，if Lucy had been spared to me.I have had to bear so much in my life that I could even bear my child's death.But to have her disappear and not know what has become of her—whether she is living miserably or lying at thebottom of the river—it is this that is driving me distracted."Kenneth and Beth remained silent for a time after Mrs.Rogers had ？nished her tragic story，for their hearts were full of sympathy for the poor woman.It was hard to realize that a re？ned，beautiful and educated girl had made so sad a mistake of her life and suffered so many af？ictions as a consequence.That old Will had never been a ？tting mate for his wife could readily be understood，and yet the man was still devoted to his helpless，unresponsive spouse.The fault was not his.
The boy and the girl both perceived that there was but one way they could assist Mrs.Rogers，and that was to discover what had become of her child.
"Was Lucy like you，or did she resemble her father？"asked Beth.
"She is—she was very like me when I was young，"replied the woman."There is a photograph of her on the wall there between the windows；but it was taken ？ve years ago，when she was a child.Now she is—she was eighteen，and a well—developed young woman.""I've been looking at the picture，"said Kenneth.
"And you mustn't think of her as dead，Mrs.Rogers，"said Beth，pleadingly."I'm sure she is alive，and that we shall find her.We're going right to work，and everything possible shall be done to trace your daughter.Don't worry，please.Be as cheerful as you can，and leave the search to us."The woman sighed.
"Will believes she is alive，too，"she said."He can't sleep or rest till he ？nds her，for my husband loves her as well as I do.But sometimes I feel it's wicked to hope she is alive.I know what she suffers，for I suffered，myself；and life isn't worth living when despair and disappointment ？lls it.""I cannot see why Lucy shouldn't yet be happy，"protestedBeth."Tom Gates is now free，and can begin life anew.""His trouble will follow him everywhere，"said Mrs.Rogers，with conviction."Who will employ a bookkeeper，or even a clerk who has been guilty of forgery？""I think I shall give him employment，"replied Kenneth."You，Mr.Forbes！""Yes.I'm not afraid of a boy who became a criminal to save the girl he loved.""But all the world knows of his crime！"she exclaimed.
"The world forgets these things sooner than you suppose，"he answered."I need a secretary，and in that position TomGates will quickly be able to live down this unfortunate affair.And if he turns out as well as I expect，he will soon be able to marry Lucy and give her a comfortable home.So now nothing remains but to ？nd your girl，and we'll try to do that，I assure you."Mrs.Rogers was crying softly by this time，but it wasfrom joy and relief.When they left her she promised to be as cheerful as possible and to look on the bright side of life.
"I can't thank you，"she said，"so I won't try.You mustknow how grateful we are to you."As Beth and Kenneth drove back to Elmhurst they were both rather silent，for they had been strongly affected by the scene at the farm—house.
"It's so good of you，Ken，to take Tom Gates into youremploy，"said the girl，pressing her cousin's arm."And I'm sure he'll be true and grateful.""I really need him，Beth，"said the boy."There is gettingto be too much correspondence for Mr.Watson to attend to，and I ought to relieve him of many other details.It's a good arrangement，and I'm glad I thought of it."They had almost reached Elmhurst when they met the Honorable Erastus Hopkins driving along the road.On the seat beside him was a young girl，and as the vehicles passed each other Beth gave a start and clung to the boy's arm.
"Oh，Ken！"she cried，"did you see？Did you see that？""Yes；it's my respected adversary.""But the girl！It's Lucy—I'm sure it's Lucy！She's the living image of Mrs.Rogers！Stop—stop—and let's go back！""Nonsense，Beth，"said the boy."It can't be.""But it is.I'm sure it is！""I saw the girl，"he said."She was laughing gaily and talking with the Honorable Erastus.Is that your idea of the mad，broken—hearted Lucy Rogers？""N—no.She was laughing，Ken，I noticed it.""And she wasn't unhappy a bit.You mustn't think that every pretty girl with dark eyes you meet is Lucy Rogers，you know.And there's another thing.""What，Ken？""Any companion of Mr.Hopkins can be easily traced.""That's true，"answered the girl，thoughtfully."I musthave been mistaken，"she added，with a sigh.