it on purpose for his good, and that she knew that he was her
son because you had a mole on your shoulder; and she wanted him to go on
pretending to be Captain Clinton's son, and offered to swear that the
other one was hers, so that he might get all the money.

"That is why I write this. My name is Humphreys. I was a sergeant in the
30th, and it was at Agra, when we were stationed there, that the change
of infants took place. My wife went over to England. I took to drink and
disgraced myself, and five years afterwards deserted. I stayed in
England for some years and then enlisted again in the 5th Dragoon
Guards, and being young-looking gave my age as eight years younger than
I was. I now go by the name of Bowen, and am a sergeant and bear a good
character in the regiment. The lad did not wish me to say anything about
this, at any rate until the campaign was over; but as we shall be
marching in a day or two, and it may be that I shall be killed, I write
a letter to you and one to Captain Clinton, so that in case I am killed
the truth may be known.

"I affirm most solemnly that the statement made by my wife was a lie.
Whether she did intend to change the children or not is more than I can
say. Sometimes she said she did, sometimes she said she didn't; but at
any rate, she herself did not know which child was which, and did not
discover the little mark on the shoulder until after the babies got
mixed up. Over and over again I have seen her cry and wring her hands
because she could not say which was which. She acknowledged that she
meant to make money out of it, and lamented that she had lost her chance
because she could never herself tell which was which. Of this I am ready
to take my oath in any court of justice, and if she says she knows now,
she is a liar. I have read this letter over to Troop-sergeant Matthews,
and have in his presence sworn on a Bible to its truth. He will place
his name by the side of mine as witness to that and to my signature. I
remain, your obedient servant, John Humphreys, now known as John Bowen.
The letter to your father is word for word the same as this. I have
written it in duplicate in case you should be killed before I am."

"Well, that is plain enough," Easton said when Rupert had finished. "It
is just what you said all along. The woman did not know which was her
son, and you and Edgar stand in the same relation to Captain Clinton
that you always did."

"Thank God for that!" Rupert sai