“Mercedes doubtless gave him to understand that there was no hope for him in that direction, and so he turned his attention to another matter—one that had presented itself to him from the first moment when he met your sister, but one which he did not seriously consider until he knew that there was no hope that she would ever consent to be his wife.
“But, then, he recalled the fact that he had a sister—and what is more important, that the ties of blood had barked back as it will sometimes strangely do, so that with a little assistance from the arts of dress and of making-up, there was a resemblance between them sufficiently marked so that under proper conditions one might readily pass for the other. It remained, therefore, only necessary to bring about those conditions.
“We will say that he communicated with his sister. That they met and the whole plan and plot was outlined between them. That she was brought out of obscurity somewhere, and, after some necessary coaching, was introduced into your home in the capacity of maid to Mercedes. It was a simple matter for her to dress so that the resemblance to her mistress should be as little noticeable as possible. The very accomplishment she wished to make use of later on was covered with every art she could employ, so that it was hardly to be seen at all while she was in the house, save at rare intervals. One of those rare intervals I know about, as well as the fact that she delighted to practise in the part of masquerading as Mercedes. Sarah surprised her once, dressed in your sister’s clothing, and standing before a glass engaged in studying her part, in character.
“Now, we have that much, and we will take a step backward again.
“After the murder of Orizaba, you know I went through his papers very thoroughly. I found the story of the Nemesis, as you know, and Rogers’ letter developed the fact that he was that interesting character. But here is a nice little point in the plot—or, rather, two very nice points: Orizaba did not suspect that Rogers was the Nemesis who had been pursuing him for so long a time, for the reason that Rogers was all the time the husband of Orizaba’s sister, Isabel. Don’t you see?”
“Not quite. There are wheels within wheels there.”
“Very well, we will say that ten years ago Rogers took the trail of Orizaba, intending to kill him. In pursuing him, he encountered Isabel, the sister of his intended victim. He fell in love with Isabel, and married her. Having done that, he posed thereafter as the fond brother-in-law, while in reality he was the Nemesis who was bleeding Orizaba all the while, and who had sworn some day to have his life. Why, we do not know, and it does not matter; but that is why, try as he might, Orizaba could never discover the identity of the man who pursued him.
“Now, let us take another step backward. We will say that one day Orizaba confided his plot to Rogers; that he told him of the strong likeness between Mercedes Danton and Isabel. With their heads together, it was an easy matter for those two men to work out the plot by which, ultimately, they were together to enjoy all the millions that your own father has amassed, and which one day are intended to be divided between you and Mercedes. They were not working for one million, but for a hundred millions. Think of it, Danton; it was a game worth playing, and worthy of the brains they put into it.”
“By Jove, Nick! But how——”
“Wait. Rogers was introduced into your service as a valet, in order to study the lay of the land, so to speak, before he would consent that his wife should become involved. Later, his wife, Orizaba’s sister, the woman whom we know as Isabel Benton, was brought forward as maid to Mercedes. The mine was laid. It only remained for Isabel to study her part until she had it learned to perfection, and then to fire the mine.”