ng and cruel
course of deception that had been practised upon him. For the sake of
Alison, to whom he was much attached, he allowed himself to be
reconciled to his sister-in-law, and agreed to forget the past and let
bygones be bygones. Both he and Miss Sherbourne decided emphatically
that Mrs. Clarke's share in the story must be kept a strict secret among
themselves; it was most undesirable that either Dorothy or Alison should
know of the dishonourable part she had played. To both the girls and the
outside public it was enough to announce, without detailed explanations,
that the mystery of Dorothy's parentage had been solved. Martha, the
only other person who had guessed at the facts of the situation, could
be safely trusted to preserve silence.

"I shall not at present claim for my daughter the fortune which is
legally hers," said Mr. Clarke. "I do not need it, for I have been very
successful financially in India, and am now in comfortable circumstances
and able to retire from business. I could not see my brother's child in
poverty, so the trust money must still be devoted to Alison's benefit.
When Rosamond is twenty-one, and of age to decide such matters for
herself, I hope that she will agree to divide the legacy equally with
her cousin, and thus set right what was originally a most unjust will."

To Dorothy the discovery was both a delight and a pain. It removed the
stigma that she considered had formerly attached to her, and placed her
in the position of other girls as regarded name and family; but it had
certain drawbacks which must be faced. Though she welcomed her
newly-found father, she clung passionately to the one friend who had
hitherto made the sum of her life.

"Aunt Barbara has brought me up and done everything for me. I can't
leave her. I've promised to work for her and take care of her when I am
old enough," she said earnestly.

"I know, child. I know what we owe her. You and I will look after Aunt
Barbara together," replied Mr. Clarke.

Dorothy's news made a great sensation at the College. The romantic story
appealed to the girls, and congratulations poured in upon her. Even Hope
Lawson and Valentine Barnett waxed cordial.

"We've never had such an excitement at school before," declared Ruth
Harmon. "It's the most interesting thing I've ever come across in my
life."

"We don't know what to call you now," laughed Mavie Morris. "You're
Dorothy Greenfield, alias Rosamond Clarke. Which is it to be