Mr. Jeffries turned and walked toward the window, and stood there gazing on the trees on the lawn. She did not see his face, but by the nervous twitching of his hands behind his back, she saw that her words had not been without effect. She waited in silence for him to say something. Presently he turned around, and she saw that his face had changed. The look of haughty pride had gone. She had touched the chords of the father's heart. Gravely he said: "Of course you realize that you, above all others, are responsible for his present position." She was about to demur, but she checked herself. What did she care what they thought of her? She was fighting to save her husband, not to make the Jeffries family think better of her. Quickly she answered: "Well, all right--I'm responsible--but don't punish him because of me." Mr. Jeffries looked at her. Who was this young woman who championed so warmly his own son? She was his wife, of course. But wives of a certain kind are quick to desert their husbands when they are in trouble. There must be some good in the girl, after all, he thought. Hesitatingly, he said: "I could have forgiven him everything, everything but----" "But me," she said promptly. "I know it. Don't you suppose I feel it too, and don't you suppose it hurts?" Mr. Jeffries stiffened up. This woman was evidently trying to excite his sympathies. The hard, proud expression came back into his face, as he answered curtly: "Forgive me for speaking plainly, but my son's marriage with such a woman as you has made it impossible to even consider the question of reconciliation." With all her efforts at self-control, Annie would have been more than human had she not resented the insinuation in this cruel speech. For a moment she forgot the importance of preserving amicable relations, and she retorted: "Such a woman as me? That's pretty plain----. But you'll have to speak even more plainly. What do you mean when you say such a woman as me? What have I done?" Mr. Jeffries looked out of the window without answering, and she went on: "I worked in a factory when I was nine years old, and I've earned my living ever since. There's no disgrace in that, is there? There's nothing against me personally--nothing disgraceful, I mean. I know I'm not educated. I'm not a lady in your sense of the word, but I've led a decent life. There isn't a breath of scandal against me--not a breath. But what's the good of talking about me? Never mind me. I'm not asking for anything. What are you going to do for him? He must have the best lawyer that money can procure--none of those bar-room orators. Judge Brewster, your lawyer, is the man. We want Judge Brewster." Mr. Jeffries shrugged his shoulders. "I repeat--my son's marriage with the daughter of a man who died in prison----" She interrupted him.