"Give it to him," he said, with a nod toward Clifford, and Maria placed it in his hands, after which she walked quietly from the room again.
Clifford was deeply moved, and his hands trembled visibly as he untied the cord that held the cover in place and removed it. He merely glanced at the letters as he took them out; but seized the folded parchment with an eagerness which betrayed how anxious he was to learn the identity of the man who had married and deserted his mother.
He removed the pin that held the two papers together and unfolded the topmost one, which proved to be the marriage-certificate. He searched it eagerly for the name he wanted, and a perplexed look swept over his face as he read it: "W. F. T. Wilton."
"W. F. T. Wilton," he repeated thoughtfully. "Well, it does not enlighten me very much. What do the initials 'W. F. T.' stand for?"
"William Faxon Temple," briefly replied his companion, and regarding him with a peculiar look.
At first the name did not seem to mean much to Clifford. Then, all at once, he started erect, a terrible shock galvanizing him from head to foot, as his mind flew back to his first summer in the mountains, where he had met the wealthy banker, William F. Temple, and his family; as he recalled also his interview with the man on the morning after Minnie Temple's rescue, when he had been so strangely moved upon learning his own name.
"But it cannot be possible!" he muttered, repudiating the thought almost as soon as it had taken form in his mind.
"What cannot be possible?" inquired the squire.
"Why, I know a man here in Washington by the name of William F. Temple, and it struck me as an odd coincidence that is all," Clifford explained, but with clouded eyes.
"Well?" said the squire, but with such a peculiar intonation that Clifford started again.