In the cold recounting of a great attempt made and won, the news from Lake Superior reached Jay in the morning. He was in Westchester at his sister's and was at breakfast with Ralph, who first had the newspaper.
"They got 'em!" exclaimed Ralph, in a tone of personal pleasure. "They got those men off the mast last night."
Jay went over beside him and started at sight of "Blenmora." He did not, for a minute, speak. Ralph kept talking.
"Powell," he said. "The captain of the ore-ship is Powell. Isn't"
"He's her father," said Jay. "Ellen Powell's father."
Ralph looked up at Jay suddenly and stared; he looked away and up at Jay again. Then he handed Jay the paper and Jay carried it into the drawing-room.
He imagined Ellen receiving it as he had but on a street corner, likely, when she went out to breakfast. Jay wanted no breakfast. By hurrying, he could catch an earlier train to the city.
He found Ellen at work, but white and very subdued, and she was so silent, when he spoke to her of her father, that he asked: "Nothing happened to the Blenmora later, did there? You've not had any personal news?"
"No," said Ellen, "I've not heard at all from home. I don't fear there's anything wrong."
