It’s very strange that my mother--I am referring to Mrs. Mason--never told me of this! BESSIE But she never told you you were a gypsy, either, did she? No; she just wanted you to think you were their own child. And then I suppose you heard some foolish tale at school. MRS. BYRD You see Jhansi’s mother and father--her real ones--died of typhoid fever before she was two years old. They got it from the cows. Well, the Harrisons were friends of the Mason’s--they all worked together in the church--and so they took Jhansi, and soon after that they moved away and we lost track of them. You know what a busy world it is--particularly for people who have duties in their community. JHANSI I haven’t accepted this story! You can’t prove it! [_MRS. BYRD impressively hands her husband the book._ SENATOR BYRD “Iowa descendants of New England families.” MRS. ROOT Oh, yes; that is _one_ of the books in which our family is written up! [_To PEYTON._] My dearest boy, from my heart I congratulate you! SENATOR BYRD Pages fifty-seven to sixty-one--inclusive, are devoted, Jhansi, to our family. MRS. BYRD My own family appears on page 113. [_SENATOR BYRD holds the book out to JHANSI, who once more stands like a rock. UNCLE GEORGE steps forward to look at the book._ UNCLE GEORGE Oh, you are a descendant of Peter Byrd. SENATOR BYRD One of those dare-devils whose leg was shot under him at Bull Run. BESSIE You heard that, Jhansi? MRS. ROOT A descendant of Peter Byrd!--whose leg was shot _under_ him-- JHANSI So _this_ is what I was brought here for, is it? To have my character torn down--to ruin my reputation and threaten my integrity by seeking to muzzle me with a leg at Bull Run and set me down in the Baptist Sunday-School in a milk-wagon! I see the purpose of it all. I understand the hostile motive behind all this--but I tell you it’s a _lie_. Something here [_Hand on heart_] tells me I am not respectable! UNCLE GEORGE Reaction. JHANSI I am Jhansi--Jhansi--a child of the gypsies! I am a wanderer! I am an outlaw! MRS. BYRD Yes, you are Jhansi. And did you ever stop to think how you came by that outlandish name? JHANSI It has always assured me of my birthright. MRS. BYRD Well, you’d better look in your geography. You were named after a town in India where your mother’s missionary circle was helping to support a missionary. SENATOR BYRD Aggie was crazy about the missionaries. JHANSI [_Falling back, breaking._] Peyton, I release you from our engagement. PEYTON No. N-o; don’t do that. [_Stoutly._] I love you for yourself alone--in spite of anything that may be true. But I must say Bessie--! JHANSI [_Beginning to sob._] I can’t bear it. I can’t bear it! And to think that _Peyton’s_ mother was an illegitimate child. MRS. ROOT [_Dazed._] What’s that? GRANDMOTHER [_Rising._] Yes; what is that? MRS. ROOT Am I to understand--? GRANDMOTHER