to the Governor and Captain Wilson, for the whole party
were gone away, when Gascoigne, who had been in deep thought since he
had made the observation to Jack, sprang up.

"I have him at last!" cried he.

"Have who?" demanded Captain Wilson.

"That Sicilian officer--I could have sworn that I had seen him before."

"That Don Mathias?"

"No, Sir Thomas! He is not Don Mathias! He is the very Don Silvio who
was murdering Don Rebiera, when we came to his assistance and saved
him."

"I do believe you are right, Gascoigne."

"I'm positive of it," replied Gascoigne; "I never made a mistake in my
life."

"Bring me those letters, Easy," said the Governor, "and let us see what
they say of him. Here it is--Don Mathias de Alayeres. You may be
mistaken, Gascoigne; it's a heavy charge you are making against this
young man."

"Well, Sir Thomas, if that is not Don Silvio, I'd forfeit my commission
if I had it here in my hand. Besides, I observed the change in his
countenance when we told him it was Easy and I who had come to Don
Rebiera's assistance; and did you observe after that, Easy, that he
hardly said a word?"

"Very true," replied Jack.

"Well, well, we must see to this," observed the Governor; "if so, this
letter of introduction must be a forgery."

The party then retired to bed, and the next morning, while Easy was in
Gascoigne's room talking over their suspicions, letters from Palermo
were brought up to him. They were in answer to those written by Jack on
his arrival at Malta: a few lines from Don Rebiera, a small note from
Agnes, and a voluminous detail from his friend Don Philip, who informed
him of the good health of all parties and of their good-will towards
him; of Agnes being as partial as ever; of his having spoken plainly, as
he had promised Jack, to his father and mother relative to the mutual
attachment; of their consent being given, and then withheld, because
Father Thomas, their confessor, would not listen to the union of Agnes
with a heretic; but, nevertheless, telling Jack this would be got over
through the medium of his brother and himself, who were determined that
their sister and he should not be made unhappy about such a trifle. But
the latter part of the letter contained intelligence equally important,
which was, that Don Silvio had again attempted the life of their father,
and would have succeeded, had not Father Thomas, who happened to be
there, thrown himself between them. That Do