pen
the seals of an envelope. "You shall see with your own eyes how I meant
by her. You will declare to the world how you read in my own hand that
I had left her everything that was not Clara's by right Call her here;
send for her; let her be present while you read it aloud, and let her
see it burned afterwards."

"'It was long before I could calm him after this paroxysm. At length
he said: "What a guilty conscience will be yours if this crime pass
unpunished!"

"'"If there be a crime, it shall not," said I, firmly.

"'"If it were to do," muttered he, in a low voice, "I 'd rather they 'd
have shot me; these agonies are dreadful, and all this lingering too!
Oh! could you not hasten it now? But not yet!" cried he, wildly. "I
have to tell you about Clara. They may rob her of all here, but she will
be rich after all. There is that great tract in America, in Ohio, called
'Peddar's Clearings;' don't forget the name. Peddar's Clearings, all
hers; it was her mother's fortune. Harvey Winthrop, in Norfolk, has the
titles, and is the guardian when I am dead."'"

"Why, I know that 'ere tract well; there's a cousin of mine, Obadiah B.
Qnackinboss, located there, and there ain't finer buckwheat in all the
West than is grown on that location. But go on, let's hear about this
sick fellow."

"This is an account of chemical tests, all this here," said Alfred,
passing over several leaves of the diary. "It seems to have been
a difficult investigation, but ending at last in the detection of
corrosive sublimate."

"And it killed him?"

"Yes; he died on the third evening after this was written. Here follows
the whole story of the inquest, and a remarkable letter, too, signed 'T.
Towers.' It is addressed to my father, and marked 'Private and Secret':
'The same hand which delivers you this will put you in possession of
five hundred pounds sterling; and, in return, you will do whatever
is necessary to make all safe. There is no evidence, except yours, of
consequence; and all the phials and bottles have been already disposed
of. Be cautious, and stand fast to yours,--T. T.' On a slip wafered to
this note was written: 'I am without twenty shillings in the world; my
shoes are falling to pieces, and my coat threadbare; but I cannot do
this.' But what have we here?" cried Alfred, as a neatly folded note
with deep black margin met his eyes. It was a short and most gracefully
worded epistle in a lady's hand, thanking Dr. Layton for his unremi