Ellsworth was altogether too fearful. Yes, and he was too
officious by far. This was something that did not concern him.
But such reasoning naturally brought little comfort. Dave's fears
would not be put down. In common with most men of splendid
physique, he had a vague contempt for those less perfect; disease
or deformity had never failed to awaken his pity, and he had often
argued that defective human beings, like unhealthy stock, should
not be allowed to mate and to perpetuate their weaknesses. This
eugenic conviction had helped to ease his conscience somewhat
during his acquaintance with Alaire, for he had told himself that
Ed Austin, by reason of his inherited vices, had sacrificed all
right to love and marriage. These thoughts came home now to roost.
What was Ed's evil heritage compared to his own? It was as vinegar
to vitriol.
And yet shining through all Dave's distress, like a faint,
flickering beacon in a storm, was that old doubt of his parentage;
and to this he finally began to pin his hopes. In the day or two
that followed his interview with Ellsworth, it afforded him almost
the only comfort he knew; for in the end he had to face the truth;
he could not marry if he were really Frank Law's son.
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