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Wells, Carolyn, 1862-1942

"Patty's Butterfly Days"

Then a great wave of compassion swept through her
heart. The deed was so foreign to her own nature that she felt
deep pity for one who was capable of such a thing. And Daisy's
evident misery roused her sympathy. She didn't stop to think that
probably Daisy's regret was at being found out and not for the
deed itself, but Patty's forgiveness was full and free, even
before it was asked. In her unbounded generosity of heart, she
resolved to shield Daisy from Farnsworth's wrath.
"What about the note?" she asked, simply.
"Did you write it?"
"I did."
"Did any one force or persuade you to write it?"
"I did it willingly, and without compulsion."
"Did Daisy know you wrote it?"
"She knew it, yes. She gave it to Guy Martin."
Bill was nonplussed. He KNEW there was some secret about that
note, but he couldn't quite fathom it.
And every word Patty spoke, though quite true, and seeming to
exonerate Daisy, made the guilty girl more and more amazed that
one she had so injured COULD be so forgiving.
"Didn't you want to be Spirit of the Sea?" Bill said at last,
desperately anxious on that point.
Patty hesitated. She couldn't truly say she didn't, and to say she
did would bring up the question of the note again.


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