Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER 1 II Magdalen’s Friend Magdalen went slowly upstairs, her heart swelling with grief and pain. It was not only that her lover had failed her ? that he had been unable or unwilling to come forward with help ? that would have been bad; but she had lived long enough, even in her quiet home, to know something of the backwardness of men to be parted from their gold. It was the low standard taken by Christopher in regard to this debt of honour which really cut her so deeply. To her the thing seemed so clear and straightforward?they had been assisted by a friend in an hour of sore need; now, when the need of the friend’s children was sorer than their own, it was but the commonest act of honesty ?let alone all sense of Christian probity?to strain every nerve to repay that debt. That any person, any man of honour could take aview other than this ? could stoop to take refuge behind a legal quibble?seemed terrible to her. That her lover should be the man, cf all others, to do so, was more than she could bear. Three years ago, as she felt very certain, Christopher would not have spoken or acted thus. Three years ago, before the thirst for gold had taken such firm hold upon him, he would have felt as she did on the matter. And if these years of struggle and anticipated prosperity had so changed him in one respect, might she not find him changed in others ? Her heart was burning within her, and she felt as though her love for Christopher could scarce survive the cruel shock it had received. Her quiet manner hid a keenly sensitive temperament, and though she gave little outward indication of emotion, her feelings were very easily stirred. She went up to her room and straight out upon the balcony, and a great tearless sob of repressed emotion broke from her. ‘ Magdalen; why, Mag…