The man was magnetic, a hero, an ideal gentleman.

No wonder his daughter was infatuated with him.

Yet the future was dark and storm-tossed, full of sinister threats and complications.

Iris did not know the wretched circumstances which had come to pass since they parted, and which had changed the whole aspect of his life.

How could he tell her?
Why should it be his miserable lot to snatch the cup of happiness from her lips?
In that moment of silent agony he wished he were dead, for death alone could remove the burthen laid on him.