“That settles everything,” he muttered; “I shall now have no fear of her contesting Mrs. Adam Brewster’s claims, on the ground that a will was made in her favor, and thus, perhaps, securing a division of the property. Everything will now naturally go to the new claimants, and the Brewster fortune is mine. I will marry the girl, Anna, thus making their interests identical with mine, take her abroad for a year or two, to polish her off, then I can come back to take my place with the other millionaires of the city. There need be no more scheming or plodding for you, John; your future is an assured success; henceforth, you can rest upon your oars and have a jolly good time,” he concluded, with a sigh of infinite content.
His once boasted affection for Allison—what had become of it? He had been momentarily shocked, but he did not appear to experience the slightest grief in view of her untimely end. “The high-spirited little minx” had dared to defy him, thus arousing his anger and malice, and since his greed for gold now bade fair to be fully gratified, she was apparently no more to him than a worm that had been crushed in his path.
Still, there were certain duties devolving upon him, certain observances to which he must conform, and he had no intention of being criticized for neglect of them. Consequently, he started directly for Boston, for the purpose of identifying his ward and properly attending to everything that might be necessary.
But when he went to the morgue, and made inquiries, he was appalled upon being told that the body of the young lady had already been identified and removed.
“It cannot be possible,” he exclaimed. “Are you sure it was Miss Brewster’s body which was taken away?”
“Certainly,” the official replied; “a Russia-leather card-case, containing cards bearing the name of Miss Brewster, had been found upon the person of the young lady, thus proving her to be the person the gentleman was inquiring for.”
Mr. Hubbard thought possibly the Mannings might have identified Allison and cared for her, and, with this idea in mind, he sought Mr. Manning at the Vendome.
But Mr. Manning was horrified upon being interviewed upon the subject. He had read an account of the accident, and had seen the name of Brewster among the list of killed, but had not once thought of Allison in connection with the event, supposing the person to belong to some other family of the same name.
Mr. Hubbard found it somewhat embarrassing to explain how his ward happened to be traveling to Boston alone; but, thinking that the truth might as well come out first as last, he related something of the circumstances connected with the appearance of Mrs. Adam Brewster and her daughter; said that Allison had become very angry upon learning the truth, and thus, he supposed, she had taken it into her head to come to her cousins in Boston.