,
then, was that the father of Nancy Blake and the great-great-grandfather
of Cecilia Crabshaw had, at some time, changed his name from that of
Richard Anthony Treadwell to that of John Blake. Why he should have done
so was an unexplained problem, and whether it was my duty to inform Miss
Crabshaw of the fact or not was not quite evident to me. What I really
did, however, was to put the old document in my pocket and forget it.

The place was soon after sold for a few hundred dollars, and after
attending to my affairs in the locality I returned to Boston, but not
to remain.

A leading lawyer in Washington, an old and esteemed friend of my father,
and a former adviser of mine in the matter of studying law, had offered
to admit me to partnership in a lucrative practice which had become too
large for his advancing years. I accepted, and bade good-by to dear old
Boston.

III.

It was not until May, 1881, that I returned to my former home, and then
for a short time only.

The next day after my arrival I had a caller at my hotel, and to my
surprise and pleasure it proved to be my old acquaintance and friend,
Christopher Gault.

"I saw your name in the list of arrivals in the morning paper, and came
up at once. I am delighted to find you here. I was in hopes to have met
you on my return from England, but learned that you had left 'The Hub'
entirely."

"Yes, I have been gone a year and a half. But tell me, Gault, where have
you kept yourself all of this time? I had nearly lost all trace of you.
You made your departure from this continent so suddenly, nearly two
years ago, that I thought you must have been"--

"Fleeing from justice?" he interrupted, laughing. "Seeking it, rather.
I see you don't quite understand," he added. "Well, you shall have an
explanation; but it is quite a little story, and I will not detain you
this morning."

"I shall see you again?"

"I hope so, by all means; and Mrs. Gault would be most happy to meet
you."

"Mrs. Gault!" I exclaimed, extending my hand,--"Mrs. Gault! Let me
congratulate you. And Mrs. Gault was formerly"--

"Miss Cecilia Crabshaw," he interposed, anticipating my guess.

"I could have guessed it," I remarked. "In fact, I think I was rather
more sanguine than you two years ago."

He laughed a little, with evident satisfaction. "I have been better
prospered than I anticipated then. We have now been married three
months. By the way, when do you return to Washington?"