could answer him, and there was a silence of some minutes.

"Jack Kellett would never have deserted me in this way if he were alive
and well," muttered Conway, painfully. "Can no one give me any tidings
of him?"

Another silence ensued.

"And I intended he should have been my heir," said Conway, dreamily.
"How strangely it sounds, to be sure, the notion of inheriting anything
from Charley Conway! How little chance there was a month or two back
that my best legacy might not have been a shabrack or a pair of pistols;
and now I'm the Lord Viscount--what is it?--Viscount--"

A wild gust of wind--one of those swooping blasts for which the Euxine
is famous--now struck the strong old walls, and made the massive
casements rattle. The sick man started at the noise, which recalled at
once the crash of the battle-field, and he cried out vigorously,
"Move up, men,--move up; keep together, and charge! Charge!" and with
bent-down head and compressed lips he seemed like one prepared to meet
a murderous onslaught. A sudden faintness succeeded to this excitement,
and he lay back weak and exhausted. As he fell back, a letter dropped
from his hand to the ground. Classon speedily caught it up, and opened
it. He had, however, but time to read the opening line, which ran
thus--"My dearest Charley, our cause is all but won--"

"From his mother," interposed Driscoll, leaning over his shoulder.

"Ay, my mother," murmured Conway, whose ear, preternaturally acute from
fever, caught the word; "she will see that my wishes are carried out,
and that all I leave behind me goes to poor Jack."

"We'll take care of that, sir," said Classon, blandly; "only let us know
what it is you desire. We have no other object here than to learn your
wishes."

With all the alacrity of one accustomed to such emergencies, Paul drew a
small portfolio from his pocket provided with all materials for writing,
and arrayed them neatly before him; but already the sick man had dropped
off into a sleep, and was breathing heavily.

"That box must contain all the papers," said Classon, rising stealthily
and crossing the room; "and see, the key is in the lock!" In a moment
they were both on the spot, busily ransacking the contents. One glance
showed their suspicions to be correct: there were heaps of legal
documents, copies of deeds, extracts of registries, with innumerable
letters of explanation. They had no time for more than the most hurried
look at these; in fact, the