niarily,
that he lost control of his temper and reason.

A coarse, angry oath escaped him, and then he cried out, as he grew
crimson with passion:

"It is a ---- forgery, cleverly executed for the purpose of gaining his
own ends."

Lord Cameron colored and drew himself up with dignity, while he
remarked, with marked displeasure:

"Mr. Mencke, allow me to request you to refrain from profanity in the
presence of my mother."

"Beg pardon, your lordship," said Mencke, looking somewhat abashed, "but
I am so upset by this blamed trick that I forgot myself entirely."

"It is no trick, sir--it is the truth," quietly returned Vane Cameron.

"What do you mean, Lord Cameron? How can you know anything about it?"
cried Mrs. Mencke, forgetting, for the moment, her weakness and
agitation in her surprise at his positive declaration.

"Violet told me--she confided the fact of her marriage to me," he calmly
returned.

"She told you," Wallace cried, his face lighting, his voice dropping to
a tender cadence, as he began to realize how true Violet had been to
him, in spite of her apparent faithlessness.

"Yes, when I asked her to become my wife," replied his lordship; then he
added: "But sit down, Mr. Richardson, and let us freely discuss this
matter, so that you can clearly understand it."

Vane rolled forward a comfortable chair for his visitor, a sad deference
in his manner, which betrayed how strongly his sympathies were enlisted
for the young man, who still had no suspicion of the sad news in store
for him. He then seated himself near him and proceeded to relate all
that had occurred in connection with his proposed marriage with Violet.

He would not tell him at once that the ceremony had never taken place,
for Wallace was still greatly excited, and he felt that his news must be
all broken to him gradually, or he would be completely unnerved.

"Evidently you have not learned that Miss Huntington was very ill for
several weeks in London," he began.

"No," Wallace said, with a start.

"Yes, she was very sick with brain fever. The attack was caused by
reading the notice of your death, and for a month her life was nearly
despaired of. When she began to recover, her physician recommended that
she be brought to Mentone for a change, and Mrs. Mencke acted
immediately upon his advice. Just previous to her illness I had confided
my feelings to Mrs. Mencke, and solicited her permission to address her
sister. It was freely give