?--the fiend, rather!

What had she just now found him proved to be?

Yes _proved_ to be, beyond the merciful possibility of a saving
doubt!--proved to be by the most overwhelming and convicting testimony,
corroborated also by the evidence of her own eyes and ears, too long
discredited for his sake.

Her eyes had seen him lurking stealthily in the dark hall, near her
father's bedroom door, late on the night of that father's murder. She had
spoken to him, and at the sound of her voice he had shrunk silently out
of sight.

Yet she had discredited the evidence of her own eyes, and persuaded
herself that she had been the subject of an optical illusion.

Her ears had heard a part of his midnight conversation with his female
confederate under the balcony--had heard his prediction that something
would happen that night to prevent the marriage that he promised her
should never take place--a prediction so awfully fulfilled in the morning
by the discovery of the dead body of her murdered father! She had fainted
at the sound of his voice, uttering such treacherous and cruel words;
yet on her return to consciousness she had disbelieved the evidence of
her own ears, and convinced herself that she had been the victim of a
nightmare dream!

Yes! she had disallowed the direct evidence of her own senses rather
than believe such diabolical wickedness of her idol! But now the
evidence of her own eyes and ears was corroborated by the most
complete and convincing testimony--the conversation under the balcony,
as reported by Rose Cameron's messenger, corresponded exactly with the
conversation overheard by herself at the time and place it was said to
have occurred, but which she dismissed from her mind as an evil dream!
This corroborating testimony proved it to be an atrocious reality! And
the man to whom she had given her hand that morning was an accomplice
in the murder of her father! unintentionally perhaps, for the witness
testified to the horror he expressed on learning from his confederate
that a murder had been committed: "The old man squealed and we had to
squelch him!" How she shuddered at the memory of these horrible words!

But this man was not her husband, after all! Although a marriage ceremony
had been performed between them by a bishop, he was not her husband, but
the husband of Rose Cameron. She had overwhelming and convincing proof of
this also!

The letters written to Rose Cameron, calling her his dear wife, and
si