Jimmie did not return home for a number of days after the fight with Pete in the saloon.

When he did, he approached with extreme caution.
He found his mother raving.

Maggie had not returned home.

The parent continually wondered how her daughter could come to such a pass.

She had never considered Maggie as a pearl dropped unstained into Rum Alley from Heaven, but she could not conceive how it was possible for her daughter to fall so low as to bring disgrace upon her family.