"I will say nothing," she said, faintly, and staggered towards the door. Her father had not insisted upon his innocence as she had expected him to do; he had taken refuge in vague phrases which meant nothing. Yet she could not believe--she thrust the thought away from her. "I will go. I will say no more," she repeated. "Ruth," he cried as she opened the door, "one thing I must tell you. You have either done great good or great harm. But, in either case, you have brought sorrow to this house." CHAPTER XVI. JENNIE BRAWN MAKES A DISCOVERY. The next day Mr. Cass informed Ruth that Geoffrey Heron was coming to spend a few days at Hollyoaks. He made no attempt to conceal his reason for asking the young man. "It is necessary," he said, "that I should talk over this deplorable matter with him. Anything further that has to be done in connection with the possible release of Mrs. Jenner must be done through me. I am her oldest friend; I am her son's best friend; and I have a right to bring the matter to a creditable issue. Do you not agree with me?" He looked at her keenly. "Yes, papa, I do," she replied, feeling more at ease in her mind now that she saw he did not shirk the investigation. "I only wish I had told I you before. But you must do me the justice to own that I never expected to find you in any way connected with it." "The wonder is that you did not find me mixed up in it earlier," he said. "I have had so much to do with Mrs. Jenner and her son that I could hardly help being concerned in their trouble. But you need not worry about me, child. I am quite able to protect myself and to explain, when the time comes, how that broken link came to be lost." "If you will only do that----" "Ruth, is it possible that you believe your father guilty of this crime?" "Oh, no, I do not; but----" He turned away. "Well, say no more about it," he said, in a softer tone than was usual with him, for he saw that the girl was terribly troubled. "There is, on the face of it, some ground for you to doubt me. I do not for a moment deny that such is the case. But I hope to right myself in your eyes. Still, you must give me time to consider the matter." "You are not angry with me, then?" she asked, anxiously. "I am displeased that you should have undertaken this investigation without telling me your intention. But I can forgive you, for I know how impulsive you are. Let us say no more about it. My task is to get at the truth of this matter; and with Geoffrey's assistance I hope to do so. All I ask is that you should be silent and leave things in my hands. And never conceal anything from me again." "I will do all you say," replied his daughter, and kissed him.