"May this truthful account written by a despairing parent, and read by a beloved voice, reach his daughter's heart. Yours affectionately,
"Y. Cloarek."
After telling Sabine the contents of this note the young man read the following aloud:
"'To My Daughter:—Fate seems to decree that I am to be separated from you for ever, my child, for now I know you can no longer bear the sight of me.
"'A strange and unforeseen event has revealed a terrible and jealously guarded secret to you.
"'Yes, that man in the strange costume, whom you have always remembered as your mother's murderer, was I, your father.
"'The privateer whose deeds inspired you with such horror was I.
"'Your mother was enceinte. We had a quarrel,—the first in our whole married life, I swear it! I gave way to my temper, and my anger became so terrible that, in your mother's nervous condition, her fright killed her.
"'Mine was a double crime, for the terror that proved fatal to your mother also had a lasting effect upon you, for the unfortunate impression made upon you at that tender age had a most deplorable influence, not only upon your health, but upon your whole life.
"'You know my crime, now let me tell you how I have expiated it.