"Then he would have to leave his wife and daughter?"
"He has no wife nor has he a daughter," said the old man sternly.
"Father Fields says that he was married at the Mission House by Father Leclerc," said Perrine.
"This marriage was contracted contrary to the French law," said M. Vulfran.
"But was it not lawful in India?" asked Perrine.
"I will have it annulled in Rome," said the blind man.
"The law would not recognize that child."
"I mean that it is not the law that makes one love or not love one's parents or children. It was not the law that made me love my poor father. I loved him because he was good and kind and he loved me. I was happy when he kissed me, and smiled at me. I loved him and there was nothing that I liked better than to be with him. He loved me because I was his little girl and needed his affection; he loved me because he knew that I loved him with all my heart. The law had nothing to do with that. I did not ask if it was the law that made him my father. It was our love that made us so much to each other."
"What are you driving at?" asked M. Vulfran.
"I beg your pardon if I have said anything I should not say, but I speak as I think and as I feel."
"And that is why I am listening to you," said the blind man; "what you say is not quite reasonable, but you speak as a good girl would."
"Well, sir, what I am trying to say is this," said Perrine boldly; "if you love your son and want to have him back with you, he also loves his daughter and wants to have her with him."
"He should not hesitate between his father and his daughter," said the old man; "besides, if the marriage is annulled, she will be nothing to him. He could soon marry that woman off again with the dowry that I would give her. Everything is changed since he went away. My fortune is much larger.... He will have riches, honor and position. Surely it isn't a little half-caste that can keep him back."
"Perhaps she is not so dreadful as you imagine," said Perrine.
"In the books that I read to you it says that the Hindus are more beautiful than the Europeans," said Perrine.
"Travelers' exaggerations," said the old man scoffingly.
"They have graceful figures, faces of pure oval, deep eyes with a proud look. They are patient, courageous, industrious; they are studious...."