Istoppedshort。IcouldnottellhimwhyIdidnotanchor。Helaughedaloud。
\"That’sallright，\"hesaid。\"IguessMabel’sstoryisnearenoughtothetruthforallpracticalpurposes。Mrs。Paine，\"withasuddenchangetoseriousness，\"youcanunderstandwhyIhavecomeherethismorning。Ifithadnotbeenforyourson’spluck，andcoolhead，andgoodjudgmentI——Mrs。ColtonandImighthavebeen——
Godknowsinwhatstatewemighthavebeento—day！Godknows！I
can’tthinkofit。\"
Hisvoicetrembled。Motherputoutahandandtookmine。