The
man voiced an exclamation of surprise and annoyance.
Mrs. Prim gasped and sank upon a sofa. The girl stood
motionless, her eyes once again bent upon the floor.
"What's the matter?" asked Burton. "What's wrong?"
"Everything is wrong, Mr. Burton," Jonas Prim's voice
was crisp and cold. "This is not my daughter."
Burton looked his surprise and discomfiture. He turned
upon the girl.
"What do you mean--" he started; but she interrupted
him.
"You are going to ask what I mean by posing as Miss
Prim," she said. "I have never said that I was Miss Prim.
You took the word of an ignorant little farmer's boy and
I did not deny it when I found that you intended bring-
ing me to Mr. Prim, for I wanted to see him. I wanted
to ask him to help me. I have never met him, or his
daughter either; but my father and Mr. Prim have been
friends for many years.
"I am Hettie Penning," she continued, addressing
Jonas Prim. "My father has always admired you and
from what he has told me I knew that you would listen
to me and do what you could for me. I could not bear
to think of going to the jail in Payson, for Payson is my
home. Everybody would have known me. It would have
killed my father.
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