tone
travelled by?"

"The same. There are seven passengers badly hurt, and two------"

The next word failed on his lips; he raised his hand in the dead
silence. With eyes that opened wide in horror he pointed over Miss
Garth's shoulder. She turned to see her mistress standing on the
threshold with staring, vacant eyes. With a dreadful stillness in her
voice, she repeated the man's last words, "Seven passengers badly hurt,
and two------"

Then she sank swooning into Miss Garth's arms.

From the shock of her husband's death, Mrs. Vanstone never recovered.

Heartbroken by the death of their parents, Norah and Magdalen had yet to
learn the full extent of the tragedy. That was first made clear to Miss
Garth by the lawyer.

Mr. Andrew Vanstone in his youth had joined the army and gone to Canada.
There he had been entrapped by a woman, whom he had married--a woman so
utterly vile and unprincipled that he was forced to leave her and return
to England. Shortly afterwards his father died, and, having been
estranged from his elder son, Michael Vanstone, bequeathed all his
property to Andrew.

Andrew Vanstone passed his life in a round of vicious pleasures, but as
his better nature had almost been destroyed by a woman, so now it was
retrieved by a woman. He fell in love, told the girl of his heart the
truth about himself, and she, out of the love she bore him, determined
to pass the rest of her life by his side, and Norah and Magdalen were
the children of their union.

"Tell me," said Miss Garth, in a voice faint with emotion, as the lawyer
laid bare the sad story, "why did they go to London?"

"They went to London to be married," cried Mr. Pendril.

In the letter from New Orleans, Mr. Vanstone had heard of the death of
his wife, and he had at once taken the necessary steps to make the woman
who had so long been his wife in the eyes of God his wife in the eyes of
the law. The story would never have been known had it not been for
Frank's engagement to Magdalen. The soul of honour, Mr. Vanstone thought
it his duty to inform Mr. Clare fully regarding his relations with Mrs.
Vanstone. His old friend proved himself deeply sympathetic, and then,
being a cautious man of business, inquired what steps Mr. Vanstone had
taken to provide for his daughters. The master of Coombe-Raven replied
that he had long ago made a will leaving them all he possessed. When Mr.
Clare pointed out that his recent marriage automatically destroyed the