ess, when too weak to sign his name, he asked me, as the legal heir
of his estate, to see that you were well provided for. He wished me to
see your education finished, and I promised to do so. I could see that
this promise relieved his mind. Of one thing you may be assured, Hector,
he never lost his affection for you."

"Thank Heaven for that!" murmured the boy, who had been deeply and
devotedly attached to the man whom, all his life long, he had looked
upon as his father.

"I can only add, Hector," said Mr. Roscoe, "that I feel for your natural
disappointment. It is, indeed, hard to be brought up to regard yourself
as the heir of a great estate, and to make the discovery that you have
been mistaken."

"I don't mind that so much, Mr. Roscoe," said Hector, slowly. "It is the
hardest thing to think of myself as having no claim upon one whom I have
loved as a father--to think myself as a boy of unknown parentage. But,"
he added, suddenly, "I have it only on your word. Why should I believe
it?"

"I will give you conclusive proof, Hector. Read this."

Allan Roscoe took from his pocket a letter, without an envelope. One
glance served to show Hector that it was in the handwriting of his late
father, or, at any rate, in a handwriting surprisingly like it.

He began to read it with feverish haste.

The letter need not find a place here. The substance of it had been
accurately given by Mr. Allan Roscoe. Apparently, it corroborated his
every statement.

The boy looked up from its perusal, his face pale and stricken.

"You see that I have good authority for my statement," said Mr. Roscoe.

"I can't understand it," said Hector, slowly.

"I need only add," said Mr. Roscoe, apparently relieved by the
revelation, "that my brother did not repose confidence in me in vain. I
accept, as a sacred charge, the duty he imposed upon me. I shall provide
for you and look after your education. I wish to put you in a way to
prepare yourself for a useful and honorable career. As a first step, I
intend, on Monday next, to place you in an excellent boarding school,
where you will have exceptional privileges."

Hector listened, but his mind was occupied by sad thoughts, and he made
no comment.

"I have even selected the school with great care," said Mr. Roscoe. "It
is situated at Smithville, and is under the charge of Socrates Smith, A.
M., a learned and distinguished educator. You may go now. I will speak
with you on this subject later