Jane's eyes did not falter. She looked at him, "You promised, you know----!"
"Yes, Allison--I love you--but--NO! You must not kiss me again. You must let me go, and listen--You promised, you know----!"
Allison's arms dropped away from her, but his eyes held her in a long look of joy.
"All right, darling, go to it"--he said with a joyous sound in his voice--"I can stand anything now, I know. It seems too good to be true and it's enough for me. But hurry! A fellow can't wait forever."
"No, Allison, you must sit back and be serious. It isn't really happy, you know--what I have to tell you----!"
Allison became grave at once.
"All right, Jane, only I can't imagine anything terrible enough to stop this happiness of mine unless you're already married--and have been concealing it from us all this time----!"
In spite of herself Jane laughed at that, and Allison breathed more freely now the tenseness was gone out of her voice. His hands went out and grasped hers.
"At least I can do this," he pleaded, and Jane lifted her eyes, now serious again, and smiled tenderly, letting her hands stay in his passively.
"Listen, Allison--my father!"
"I know, Jane, dear--I heard it long ago. Your father was a forger! What do you suppose I care? He probably had some overpowering temptation and yielded, never dreaming but he would be able to make it right. You can't make me believe that any parent of yours was actually bad! And besides, if he was, it wouldn't be you----"
"Allison! Listen!" broke in Jane gravely, stopping the torrent of words with which he was attempting to silence her. "It isn't what you think at all. My father wasn't a forger! He was a good man!"
"He wasn't!" exclaimed Allison joyously. "Then what in thunder? Why didn't you tell 'em so, Jane?" He tried to draw her to him, but she still resisted.
"That's just it, Allison, I can't. I never can----"
"Well, then I will! You shan't have a thing like that hanging over you----!"
"But that is just what you must not do. And you can't do it, either, if I don't tell you about it, for you wouldn't have a thing to say, nor any way to prove it. And I won't tell you, Allison, ever, unless you will promise----!"
Allison was sobered in an instant.
"Jane, don't you know me well enough to be sure I would not betray any confidence you put in me?"