He wrote one angry , unfilial letter back and then came silence . Between grief and shame Cyrus and Deborah Morgan grew old rapidly in the year that followed . At the end of that time Elinor Morgan , the mother of an hour , died ; three months later Paul Morgan was killed in a railroad collision . After the funeral Cyrus Morgan brought home to his wife their son 's little daughter , Joscelyn Morgan . Her aunt , Annice Ashton , had wanted the baby . Cyrus Morgan had been almost rude in his refusal . His son 's daughter should never be brought up by an actress ; it was bad enough that her mother had been one and had doubtless transmitted the taint to her child . But in Spring Valley , if anywhere , it might be eradicated . At first neither Cyrus nor Deborah cared much for Joscelyn . They resented her parentage , her strange , un-Morgan-like name , and the pronounced resemblance she bore to the dark-haired , dark-eyed mother they had never seen . All the Morgans had been fair . If Joscelyn had had Paul 's blue eyes and golden curls her grandfather and grandmother would have loved her sooner . But the love came ... it had to . No living mortal could have resisted Joscelyn . She was the most winsome and lovable little mite of babyhood that ever toddled . Her big dark eyes overflowed with laughter before she could speak , her puckered red mouth broke constantly into dimples and cooing sounds . She had ways that no orthodox Spring Valley baby ever thought of having . Every smile was a caress , every gurgle of attempted speech a song . Her grandparents came to worship her and were stricter than ever with her by reason of their love . Because she was so dear to them she must be saved from her mother 's blood .
XXXXX shot up through a roly-poly childhood into slim , bewitching girlhood in a chill repressive atmosphere .
Ashton Cyrus Joscelyn Morgan Morgans Paul Valley dimples first hour