ated imposture of his own to obtain his wife's fortune.

When Darrell came to this part of his story, Alban Morley's face grew
more seriously interested. "Stop!" he said; "William Losely assured you
of his own conviction that this strange tale was true. What proofs did
he volunteer?"

"Proofs! Death, man, do you think that at such moments I was but a
bloodless lawyer, to question and cross examine? I could but bid the
impostor leave the house which his feet polluted."

Alban heaved a sigh, and murmured, too low for Darrell to overhear,
"Poor Willy!" then aloud: "But, my dear friend, bear with me one moment.
Suppose that, by the arts of this diabolical Jasper, the exchange really
had been effected, and a child to your ancient line lived still, would
it not be a solace, a comfort--"

"Comfort!" cried Darrell, "comfort in the perpetuation of infamy! The
line I promised my father to restore to its rank in the land, to be
renewed in the grandchild of a felon!--in the child of the yet
viler sharper of a hell! You, gentleman and soldier, call that
thought--'comfort!' O Alban!--out on you! Fie! fie! No!--leave such a
thought to the lips of a William Losely! He indeed, clasping his
hands, faltered forth some such word; he seemed to count on my forlorn
privation of kith and kindred--no heir to my wealth--no representative
of my race--would I deprive myself of--ay--your very words--of a
solace--a comfort! He asked me, at least, to inquire."

"And you answered?"

"Answered so as to quell and crush in the bud all hopes in the success
of so flagrant a falsehold--answered: 'Why inquire? Know that, even if
your tale were true, I have no heir, no representative, no descendant
in the child of Jasper--the grandchild of William-Losely. I can at least
leave my wealth to the son of Charles Haughton. True, Charles Haughton
was a spendthrift, a gamester; but he was neither a professional cheat
nor a convicted felon.'"

"You said that--Oh, Darrell!"

The Colonel checked himself. But for Charles Haughton, the spendthrift
and gamester, would William Losely have been the convicted felon?
He checked that thought, and hurried on: "And how did William Losely
reply?"

"He made no reply--he skulked away without a word." Darrell then
proceeded to relate the interview which Jasper had forced on him at
Fawley during Lionel's visit there--on Jasper's part an attempt to tell
the same tale as William had told--on Darrell's part, the same scornful