to be dead, had
recently reappeared in England, where he was recognized, but not
arrested, for the illness proved fatal.' He was attended, the paper said,
by his daughter, 'a beautiful young girl whose modest mien and gentle
manner had done much toward keeping the officers of justice from her
dying father, no one being able to withstand her pleadings that her
father might die in peace.'

"I was grateful for this tribute, to Genevra, and I felt that it was
deserved; turning again to the notice of her death, which must have
occurred within a short time of her father's, and was probably induced
by past troubles and recent anxiety for him.

"'Genevra Lambert died at Alnwick, aged twenty-two.' There could be no
mistake, and with a tear to the memory of the dead whom I had loved and
injured, I burned the paper, feeling that now there was no clew to the
secret I was as anxious to preserve as was my mother.

"And so the years wore on till I met and married you, withholding from
you that yours was not the first love which had stirred my heart, nor
yours the first head which had slept upon my arm. I meant to tell you,
Katy, but I could not for the great fear of losing you if you knew all.
And then an error concealed so long is hard to be confessed. I took you
across the sea to Brighton, where I first met Genevra, and then to
Alnwick, seeking out the grave which made assurance doubly sure. It was
that one in the far corner of St. Mary's where I went so often and where
once you came, sitting upon the very mound whose headstone bore
Genevra's name. I drew my breath quickly as if the dead were thus
dishonored, but I knew you meant no harm, and as soon as possible I
hurried you away. It was natural that I should make some inquiries
concerning her last days, but lest it should all come out kept me back,
so that I only questioned the old sexton who once was at work nearby.
Calling his attention to the name, I said it was an uncommon one and
asked if he knew the girl.

"'Not by sight, no,' he said. 'She was only here a few days before she
died. I've heard she was very winsome and that there was a scandal of
some kind mixed up with her.'

"I would not ask him any more; and without any wrong to you, my wife, I
confess that my tears dropped upon the turf under which I knew Genevra
lay."

"I am glad they did; I should hate you if you had not cried," Katie
exclaimed, her voice more natural than it had been since the great shock
came,