ienced. Nothing
seemed of much moment to her which could come from without,--her real
world was within, and the light of its day and the breath of its life
came from her love, made holy by the self-forgetfulness on both sides
which was born with it.

Only one member of the household was in danger of finding the excitement
more than she could bear. Miss Cynthia knew that all Murray Bradshaw's
plans, in which he had taken care that she should have a personal
interest, had utterly failed. What he had done with the means of revenge
in his power,--if, indeed, they were still in his power,--she did not
know. She only knew that there had been a terrible scene, and that he
had gone, leaving it uncertain whether he would ever return. It was with
fear and trembling that she heard the summons which went forth, that the
whole family should meet in the parlor to listen to a statement from Mr.
Penhallow. They all gathered as requested, and sat round the room, with
the exception of Mistress Kitty Fagan, who knew her place too well to
be sittin' down with the likes o' them, and stood with attentive ears in
the doorway.

Mr. Penhallow then read from a printed paper the decision of the Supreme
Court in the land case so long pending, where the estate of the late
Malachi Withers was the claimant, against certain parties pretending to
hold under an ancient grant. The decision was in favor of the estate.

"This gives a great property to the heirs," Mr. Penhallow remarked, "and
the question as to who these heirs are has to be opened. For the will
under which Silence Withers, sister of the deceased, has inherited is
dated some years previous to the decease, and it was not very strange
that a will of later date should be discovered. Such a will has been
discovered. It is the instrument I have here."

Myrtle Hazard opened her eyes very widely, for the paper Mr. Penlallow
held looked exactly like that which Murray Bradshaw had burned, and,
what was curious, had some spots on it just like some she had noticed on
that.

"This will," Mr. Penhallow said, "signed by witnesses dead or absent
from this place, makes a disposition of the testator's property in some
respects similar to that of the previous one, but with a single change,
which proves to be of very great importance."

Mr. Penhallow proceeded to read the will. The important change in the
disposition of the property was this: in case the land claim was decided
in favor of the estate, th