iving birth to an only son, as they
were crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently this son, who had been
named John, ran away from home when he was but eleven years old, and had
never been seen or heard of since. My father said that Uncle James had
evidently brooded over the matter so long that he was broken down in
health and could not live much longer. Then he showed me a picture of
John Convert, when he was ten years old, and said that it looked exactly
like me at that age. Finally, he told me that Cousin John was the sole
heir to his grandfather's estate, and intimated that it would be a
splendid stroke of business for me to go to Eden and pretend to be the
long-lost son, and, after reaching the age of twenty-one, claim the
estate as my own. My father told me that as soon as he heard my uncle's
story, his well-trained financial brain had immediately formulated this
excellent plan, and consequently he led my uncle to believe that he had
no children of his own. He also ascertained the names of the different
places where my uncle had lived during the past, and proposed that I
should visit these localities and become acquainted with John's old
playmates, in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of his youthful
characteristics and any other useful information necessary to carry out
the deception successfully.

"'Well, I entered into the plot with enthusiasm, and within six months
presented myself to Uncle James as his son.

"'At first the scheme worked to perfection, and there was great
rejoicing in the little town of Eden, where the Rev. James Convert was
an honored and respected citizen of the community. But as time went by,
my uncle apparently began to doubt my identity, for at times he would
look at me long and searchingly, and then, with a sorrowful shake of the
head, would remark that I lacked the character of the boy he had known
as his son. So, fearing that he might ultimately discover the fraud and
foil our plans, my father and I jointly murdered him by a slow process
of poison. Then, with the necessary papers in my possession, and plenty
of reputable witnesses from Eden to swear that I was the acknowledged
son of the Rev. James Convert, at the age of twenty-one I took
possession of my grandfather's vast estate in England.

"'But the fear of the rightful heir turning up sooner or later to expose
the fraud began to haunt me, and, feeling my insecurity as long as he
was alive, I began a long and tedious search