"I understood," said Flora. "And I agreed."
Her face was as hard as her father's and George was puzzled.
"I should have thought you would have been inclined to mercy."
Flora colored a little, but she looked at him steadily.
"Langside deserves the punishment he has so far escaped. He's guilty of what my father thinks, but there's another offense that I'm afraid will never be brought home to him."
George admired her courage as he remembered a very unpleasant story he had heard about a pretty waitress at the settlement. As a matter of fact, he had doubted it.
"Flora went to see the girl at Regina. They found her there pretty near dying," Grant explained quietly.
Recollecting a scene outside the Sachem, when Flora had accompanied Mrs. Nelson, George realized that he had rather overlooked one side of her character. She could face unpleasant things and strive to put them right, and she could be sternly just without shrinking when occasion demanded it. This, however, was not an aspect of hers that struck one forcibly; he had generally seen her compassionate, cheerful, and considerate. Then he told himself that there was no reason why he should take any interest in Flora Grant's qualities.
"I suppose Langside will be sold up," he said.
"Open auction, though I guess there won't be much bidding. Folks round here don't know the man as I do, but they've good reason to believe the money will go to his creditors, and there'll be nothing left for him."