n you. This is the sole use to
which, without your consent, we have presumed to put the secret we have
learned. Do you pardon George now?"

Waife's lips murmured inaudibly, but his face grew very bright; and as
it was raised upwards, Lionel's ear caught the whisper of a name--it was
not Jasper, it was "Lizzy."

"Ah! why," said Lionel, sadly, and after a short pause, "why was I not
permitted to be the one to attest your innocence--to clear your name?
I, who owed to you so vast an hereditary debt! And now--dear, dear Mr.
Losely--"

"Hush! Waife!--call me Waife still!--and always."

"Willingly! It is the name by which I have accustomed myself to love
you. Now, listen to me. I am dishonoured until at least the mere
pecuniary debt, due to you from my father, is paid. Hist! Hist!--Alban
Morley says so--Darrell says so. Darrell says, 'he cannot own me as
kinsman till that debt is cancelled.' Darrell lends me the means to do
it; he would share his kinsman's ignominy if he did not. Before I could
venture even to come hither, the sum due to you from my father was
repaid. I hastened to town yesterday evening--saw Mr. Darrell's lawyer.
I have taken a great liberty--I have invested this sum already in the
purchase of an annuity for you. Mr. Darrell's lawyer had a client
who was in immediate want of the sum due to you; and, not wishing
permanently to burthen his estate by mortgage, would give a larger
interest by way of annuity than the public offices would; excellent
landed security. The lawyer said it would be a pity to let the
opportunity slip, so I ventured to act for you. It was all settled this
morning. The particulars are on this paper, which I will leave with you.
Of course the sum due to you is not exactly the same as that which
my father borrowed before I was born. There is the interest--compound
interest; nothing more. I don't understand such matters; Darrell's
lawyer made the calculation--it must be right."

Waife had taken the paper, glanced at its contents, dropped it in
confusion, amaze. Those hundreds lent, swelled into all those thousands
returned! And all methodically computed--tersely--arithmetically-down
to fractions. So that every farthing seemed, and indeed was, his lawful
due. And that sum invested in an annuity of L500 a year--income which,
to poor Gentleman Waife, seemed a prince's revenue!

"It is quite a business-like computation, I tell you, sir; all done by
a lawyer. It is indeed," cried Lionel, di