Olave it was. He had evidently received some intimation of his father's condition, for he walked to the bedroom where the earl lay dying. To the three persons at the bedside, physician, nurse, and rector, he was a stranger, but his likeness to the patient was sufficiently striking to apprise them at once of the relationship.
The viscount, keeping in the background, addressed himself to the physician.
"How is he?"
"Sinking fast."
"Is his mind clear?"
"Now it is. He wandered earlier in the evening."
"Then leave us, please."
There was something so authoritative in the viscount's manner that the three watchers were constrained to obey.
What took place in their absence was never known. The interview was of short duration, and ended in a cry from the earl, which brought physician and nurse hurrying into the apartment.