refreshments which were not theirs to give. The little cemetery
was crowded with friends and acquaintances of the dead--country gentry
most of them, who sought to show their respect for their late neighbour
by falling into the long funeral procession and joining the throng at
the graveside.

It was a severe ordeal for the two boys to find themselves the centres
of observation, and to feel that more than half the interest exhibited
in them was on account of their supposed inheritance.

One bluff squire came up after the funeral and patted Reginald on the
back.

"Never mind, my boy," said he; "I was left without a father at your age.
You'll soon get over it, and your mother will have plenty of friends.
Glad to see you up at the Hall any day, and your brother too. You must
join our hunt next winter, and keep up the family name. God bless you!"

Reginald shrank from this greeting like a guilty being, and the two
desolate boys were glad to escape further encounters by retreating to
their carriage and ordering the coachman to drive home at once.

A few days disclosed all that was wanting to make their position quite
clear. Mr Cruden's will confirmed Mr Richmond's statement as to the
source of his income. All his money was invested in shares of the two
ruined railways, and all he had to leave besides these was the furniture
and contents of Garden Vale. Even this, when realised, would do little
more than cover the debts which the next week or two brought to light.
It was pitiful the way in which that unrelenting tide of bills flowed
in, swamping gradually the last hope of a competency, or even means of
bare existence, for the survivors.

Neither Mrs Cruden nor her sons had been able to endure a day's delay
at Garden Vale after the funeral, but had hurried for shelter to quiet
lodgings at the seaside, kept by an old servant, where in an agony of
suspense they awaited the final result of Mr Richmond's investigations.

It came at last, and, bad as it was, it was a comfort to know the worst.
The furniture, carriages, and other contents of Garden Vale had
sufficed to pay all debts of every description, with a balance of about
L350 remaining over and above, to represent the entire worldly
possessions of the Cruden family, which only a month ago had ranked with
the wealthiest in the county.

"So," said Mrs Cruden, with a shadow of her old smile, as she folded up
the lawyer's letter and put it back in her pocket, "we kno