"I thank you, Miss Carleton, for your kind words; I shall never forget them; and, however the battle goes, I can feel there is one, at least, whose friendship and confidence are mine, can I not ?" "Most assuredly, Mr.Mainwaring.

But why do you speak as though there were a possibility of defeat or failure?
I am so confident that you will win, after the story of your life that you have given me, that I am all impatience to learn the outcome of the contest, just as having read one chapter in some thrilling romance I am eager for the next." He smiled at her comparison.

"Real life, as well as romance, sometimes contains startling surprises, Miss Carleton.

The next chapter might prove less pleasant." She looked keenly into his face for a moment, and her manner became as serious as his own.
"There must be something," she said, "of which you have not told me; if so, I will not ask your confidence until you choose to bestow it, nor do I trust you, personally, any the less.

It only seemed to me, with your prospects of success, and the great wealth and enviable position so soon to become yours, there could be no unpleasant anticipations for the future." A bitter smile crossed his face, as he inquired in low, tense tones, "Of what avail are wealth and position to one who finds an insurmountable barrier placed between himself and all that he holds most precious on earth ?" "I fear I do not understand you," she replied.