and cast him
out. The letter does not speak so harshly of me as I deserve. Your
mother, Mary, was my youngest and favorite sister--I loved her the more
because my wife had died childless soon after my marriage. I got a
clever young artist, Ralph Clare, down to Priory Court to paint Mary's
portrait, little foreseeing what would happen. She fell in love with
him, and fled to become his wife. It was a blow to my family pride, and
my anger was stronger than my grief. I vowed that I would never forgive
her, and when she wrote to me--once a short time after her flight, and
again ten years later--I returned her letters unopened. Her elder sister
was as obdurate as myself, and refused to have anything to do with her.
After the death of Elizabeth--that was Victor Nevill's mother--I began
to feel that I had been too harsh with Mary. My remorse grew, giving me
no rest, until recently I determined to find her. But I might never
have succeeded had not mere chance helped me. I was struck by your
resemblance to Mary when I first met you in Lamb and Drummond's shop--"

He paused for a moment, struggling with emotion.

"My boy, believe that I am truly repentant," he added. "I have no kith
or kin left but you--you alone can fill the empty void in my heart. You
must reign some day at Priory Court. Will you forgive me, as your mother
did at the last?"

For an instant Jack hesitated. He remembered the sad story he had
just read--the story of his father's illness and death, his mother's
subsequent privations, and the grief caused by her brother's cruel
conduct, which continued to cloud her life after a distant relative
bequeathed to her a comfortable legacy. Then he recalled the last words
of the letter, and his face softened.

"I forgive you freely, Sir Lucius," he said. "My mother wished me to
bear you no malice, and I cannot disregard that."

"God bless you, my boy," replied Sir Lucius. "You have made me very
happy."

"Come, cheer up!" put in Jimmie. "This is an occasion for rejoicing. I
have a bottle of champagne, and we'll drink it to the health of the new
heir."

The wine was produced and opened, and Jack responded to the toast.

"There is one thing that puzzles me, Sir Lucius," he said. "How did
these papers come into your hands? They could not have been among my
mother's effects."

"Are you aware," replied Sir Lucius, "that on the night after your
mother's death her house in Bayswater was broken into by a burglar?"

"Yes