Her call on the lady in question resulted in a success that she could not have hoped for. In fact, she secured information which was complete, and was only confirmed, not added to, by those whom she subsequently visited. And in this information were revelations of which Nick had not dreamed. From this woman, who was familiar with the history of the family, Ida learned that Blanche and Ethel were twin daughters of an old actor and actress; that the father had died when the girls were about twelve years of age, and that the mother, after continuing on the stage for some two years thereafter, had married again and left the stage. The man she had married was a superior mechanic, who had invested his savings in the purchase of a saloon, which quickly became a sporting haunt; he was a widower, with a son aged about eighteen years at the time of his father’s marriage. When his father engaged in the liquor business he had taken the son into the store, who, under the influences, grew to be rather sporty in his tastes and practices. As the two girls developed they did not get along well with their stepfather, and Blanche, the more spirited of the two, left her home when eighteen to become an actress. Ethel, however, who had neither a taste nor an aptitude for the stage, remained at home, enduring an unpleasant life. After Blanche had made what was considered to be a wealthy marriage, the conditions at the Romney home were utterly changed. George Macrane, the stepbrother, under the suggestion of Donald, his father, became a suitor for the hand of Ethel. There seemed to be an idea on the part of the father and son that a good deal of money must come from Blanche to Ethel, and that the husband of Ethel must benefit by it. Ethel, from the first, had resisted these efforts, and was compelled to fight the battle almost alone. Her mother was evidently a weak woman, completely under the rule of her husband, and joined her husband and his son in their effort to force upon the girl the unwelcome suit. The girl Ethel had shown more spirit in this resistance than she had displayed in all her life before. It became persecution, for her life was made miserable during the four years that it lasted. All sorts of annoyances were put upon her. She was not permitted to go out, or to receive company, and, if she talked with any one, especially a man, a great row was made with her. As the time went on these persecutions were increased. Finally the girl Ethel, in her distress, had carried her troubles to the lady talking to Ida. This lady had advised Ethel to tell all her troubles to her sister Blanche, something which Ethel had not done, because of the urgency of her mother not to trouble Blanche with the family affairs. At length the matter had become so bad that Ethel had permitted Blanche to know how unpleasant was her life at home, with the result that Blanche had insisted that Ethel should come to live with her.