n, and then it
was the slow, measured chime of the clock as it struck the half hour
which awakened him.

"Great Heaven! half past eleven!" he ejaculated, springing from the
couch. "I shall barely have time to get downstairs to be present at the
reading of the will. I must make all haste; but first of all I must find
out how Iris is, and if her shoulder pains her much."

He rang the bell hastily, and to the servant who answered the summons he
gave his verbal message to Miss Vincent. But in a very short time the
man returned, placing a letter in his hand.

Kendal was mystified, for he saw that it was Iris' delicate chirography.
He tore open the envelope with the fever of impatience, and as his eye
fell upon the delicately written lines his handsome face turned white as
marble.

"My DEAR HARRY," it commenced, "you will feel greatly
surprised at the contents of this letter. I think it
best to break into the subject at once, and to tell you
the plain truth of just what has happened.

"Shortly after I left you and retired to my own
apartments the pain in my shoulder became so intense
that, remembering there was a young surgeon among the
invited guests, I sent for him at once. I can never
tell you just exactly how it came about, but the upshot
of the whole matter was that he asked me to marry him.

"I wanted time to consider it; but he said it must be
then and there, within the hour, or never. I demurred,
but he was resolute.

"I realized that I held my future in my own hands, and
that I had to decide upon my own destiny at once.

"He is a millionaire's son, and you are only a poor,
struggling physician. Can you wonder that it could
terminate only in one way?

"I accepted him, and by the time that you are reading
this we shall be married and far away. So good-bye,
Harry. Try and forgive me, if you can.

"IRIS."

With a horrible imprecation, Kendal tore the note into a thousand
fragments, hurled them upon the floor, and ground his heel into them.

"False!" he cried. "I might have known it. It is always these beautiful
women who are so heartless. They draw men on with their smiles and their
bewitching fascinations, only to throw them over when a more eligible
_parti_ appears upon the scene."

Deeply as he had been smitten with her charms, her action caused a