A villain had betrayed this mitherless lassie; used her as a plaything for months, and then, when the inevitable happened, deserted her, leaving her to face a stern father and a world that was not likely to be tender to her.

The day she came to me her father had turned her oot--to think o' treatin' one's ain flesh and blood so! There was little enow that I could do.

She had no place to gae that nicht, so I arranged wi' the dresser, a gude, motherly body, to gie her a lodging for the nicht, and next day I went mysel' to see her faither--a respectable foreman he turned oot to be.

I tault him hoo it came that I kenned aboot his dochter's affairs, and begged him would he no reconsider and gie her shelter?
I tried to mak' him see that onyone micht be tempted once to do wrong, and still not be hopelessly lost, and asked him would he no stand by his dochter in her time o' sair trouble.
He said ne'er a word whiles I talked.

He was too quiet, I knew.