The door was flung open and Mrs. Stone, matron of the orphanage, strode into the room, panting, her heavy face red with anger and exertion. She was followed by a flustered, weeping Mrs. Greer and by a small, smartly dressed little figure that halted in the doorway. Even in that first dreadful moment when Sally knew that she was trapped, that the half-performed wedding ceremony would not be completed, she was conscious of that shock of amazement and delight which had always tingled along her nerves whenever she had seen Enid Barr. But why had Enid Barr joined in the cruel pursuit of a luckless orphan whose worst sin had been running away from charity? If David’s arms had not been so tightly about her, she would have tried to run away again— “Are we too late?” Mrs. Stone demanded in the loud, harsh voice that had been a whip-lash upon Sally Ford’s sensitive nerves for twelve years. “Are they married?” “I was reading the service when you interrupted, madam,” the Reverend Mr. Greer said with surprising severity. “And I shall continue it if you cannot show just cause why these two young people should not be married. May I ask who you are, madam?” “Certainly! I am Mrs. Miranda Stone, matron of the State Orphans’ Asylum of Capital City, and Sally Ford is one of my charges, a minor, a ward of the state until her eighteenth birthday. She is only sixteen years old and cannot be married without the permission of her guardians, the trustees of the orphanage. Is it clear that you cannot go on with the ceremony?” she concluded in her hard, brisk voice. “Is this true, Sally?” the old man asked Sally gently. “Yes,” she nodded, then laid her head wearily and hopelessly upon David’s shoulder. “Mrs. Stone,” David began to plead with passionate intensity, one of his hands trembling upon Sally’s bowed head, “for God’s sake let us go on with this marriage! I love Sally and she loves me. I have never harmed her and I never will. It’s not right for you to drag her back to the asylum, to spend two more years of dependence upon charity. I can support her, I’m strong, I love her—” “Will all of you kindly leave the room and let me talk with Sally?” Mrs. Stone cut across his appeal ruthlessly. “I may as well tell you, Mr. Greer, that my friend here, Mrs. Barr, a very rich woman, intends to adopt this girl and provide her with all the advantages that wealth makes possible. “She has been hunting for Sally for weeks, and it is only through her persistence and the power which her wealth commands that we have been able to prevent this ridiculous marriage today.” “We shall be glad to let you talk privately with the young couple,” the old minister answered with punctilious politeness. “Come, Mama, Cora!” “Will you please leave the room also, Mr. Nash?” Mrs. Stone went on ruthlessly, without taking time to acknowledge the old man’s courtesy.