“Inclosed you will find che
your present necessities, and
will make some perman
for you. Write me at once
anxious until I hear from
“Ever y
Such was the fragment which Everet Mapleson found, and he read it over several times, his face growing whiter, graver, and more thoughtful with each perusal.
“At last!” he cried, striking his clenched hand upon the desk before him. “I have felt it coming, and now I will follow it up. I will leave no stone unturned until I get to the bottom of the whole matter. How tenderly affectionate this letter must have been,” he continued, with curling lips. “He sorrows with her, and would have come to her ‘had it been possible’. He evidently wanted her to remain here after her mother died until he could come. Meantime he advises a companion and protector, and does not wish her to ‘mind the expense,’ because he has a ‘right to care’ for her, and incloses a check as substantial evidence of the fact.
“Why didn’t she stay here, I wonder?” he pursued, musingly. “Why did she go to Richmond to look for a situation as governess, or was that only a blind to cover her flight—to deceive him. There is a mystery about it. Can it be possible——”
He sprang to his feet with the sentence unfinished on his lips, and began pacing the floor with a clouded brow, and his mouth drawn into a stern, resolute line.