ed was,
"Have ye done phwat I told ye, Jimmie?" Then the door swung upon its
hinges while the younger man went out, leaving his father chuckling
softly.

"Jimmie's th' fine la-ad, afther all," Riley muttered quietly to
himself. "He has th' temptations same as we all has, but he seen his
duty when his fa-ather shown it ter him." Then the old man became
reflective. "It's sorry I'd 'a' been ter have had ter mess Jimmie all
up," he continued--"but I'd 'a' done it. It's lucky f'r him he didn't
show fight; it's lucky f'r him, I'm tellin' ye."

In the mean time Gorham had sought Eleanor and Alice, and told them the
news which had come to him so unexpectedly. The problem now was to find
the second Mrs. Buckner, and as quickly as possible. James had explained
to Mr. Gorham that even Buckner himself did not know where the woman
was. He had lived in several cities during the last few years. His wife
might have died or moved away; but as Gorham pointed out in answer to
the doubts Eleanor and his daughter expressed, if it was a fact, there
must be a way to find conclusive evidence.

"I cannot delay a moment," Gorham at length declared. "It will take some
time at best to run this matter down, and with the certainty so near at
hand to prove our fears groundless, I am all impatience to take steps
toward securing the actual evidence itself. It is imperative that I
leave for Chicago to-morrow, and I must get this investigation under way
before then."

Eleanor and Alice sat for some moments in silence after Gorham left the
house. The girl watched the older woman, waiting for her to speak. The
anxious lines were still in Eleanor's face; her pallor remained, and
Alice wondered that she gave no evidence of relief from the
nerve-racking strain which she had endured, in the face of so hopeful a
turn in the whole situation. Still more, to the girl's surprise, Eleanor
rose abruptly from beside her, and walked irresolutely to the window.

"I cannot, I cannot," she cried at last, all the pent-up feeling of the
last few moments finding expression in these brief words. Alice was
quickly beside her.

"You cannot do what, dear?" she asked, sympathetically.

"I cannot tell him."

"Haven't you told him yet?" Alice asked, a shade of reproach showing in
her voice.

Eleanor turned from the window and passed her arm around Alice's waist.

"I have tried a hundred times. The few opportunities when I might have
done so naturally found me too weak;