nd the same person ever since the death of Mr.
Dinsmore. The lady came to me immediately after that event and requested
me to ascertain if he had made a will. I instituted inquiries and learned
that he had tried to do so, but failed to sign it. She then revealed to
me that she was the wife of Mr. Dinsmore, but that they had separated
only a year after their marriage, although he had allowed her an annual
income of twenty-five hundred dollars for separate maintenance. She
produced her certificate and other proofs that she was his lawful
wife, and authorized me to claim his fortune for her, but stipulated that
she was not to appear personally in the matter, as she did not wish to be
identified as Mrs. Dinsmore, after having appeared in New York society as
Mrs. Montague. She absolutely refused to make her husband's niece--or
supposed niece--any allowance, although I felt that it was cruel to
deprive the young lady of everything when she had been reared in luxury
and expected to be the sole heir, and I tried to persuade her to settle
upon her the same amount that she herself had hitherto received from
Mr. Dinsmore. All my arguments were without avail, however, and I was
obliged to act as she required. You all know the result; Miss Mona was
deprived of both fortune and home, and Mrs. Montague, as she still wished
to be known, suddenly became, in truth, the rich woman she was supposed
to be previously."

"Did you know of this?" Mr. Rider asked, turning to Mr. Graves.

"I knew that a woman claiming to be a Mrs. Dinsmore had secured the
fortune which should have been settled upon this young lady; but I did
not know that Mrs. Montague was that woman until Miss Dinsmore, as I
suppose we must now call her"--with a smile at Mona--"returned from the
South. Until then I also believed that she was only the niece of my
friend. If I had ever suspected the truth you may be very sure that I
should have fought hard to establish the fact."

"I suspected the fact when Miss Mona came to me, bringing her mother's
picture, and told me her story," Mr. Corbin here remarked. "I was
convinced of it after I had paid a visit to and made some inquiries of
Mrs. Montague--"

"Ha!" that woman interposed as she turned angrily upon Mona, "then you
did make use of that torn picture after all!"

"I took it to an artist, had it copied, then gave the pieces to Mary to
be burned, as you had commanded," Mona quietly replied.

"Oh! how you have fooled me!"