"'A fool and his money are soon parted,'" sneered Sharpley. "Where did you find them?"
"No. 10 Hurst Court."
"I advise you not to be so ready to part with your money the next time. I'll wager they are imposters."
"What cursed chance brought him in contact with these people?" said Sharpley to himself after Frank had left him to arrange his toilet. "He little dreams that the woman he has relieved is the true wife of the man who has married his mother."
CHAPTER XVII.
COLONEL SHARPLEY'S RUSE.
Later in the day Mr. Sharpley found his way to Hurst Court, and paused before Number 10. Though a selfish man, he was not without feeling, and the miserable quarters in which he found his sister excited his pity. He made inquiry of some of the lower tenants, and soon stood at his sister's door. Without waiting to knock, he opened the door and stepped in.
The sick woman looked up mechanically, supposing it to be a neighbor who had been kind to her. But when she recognized her brother, she uttered a feeble cry of joy.
"Oh, Robert, have you come back?" she cried. "How long it is since I have seen you!"