"But he has no children."
"I had one child," interposed Farringford, trembling with emotion, as well as from the effects of inebriation.
"I remember," said Mr. Lamar. "You lost that child when the Farringford was burned."
"Yes," replied my father, with a shudder.
"Will you state precisely how that child was lost, sir?" I continued. "I would not ask you to do so if it were not necessary, for I know the narrative is painful."
"I suppose you claim to be this child, which, if I remember rightly, was a girl," added Mr. Lamar.
"No; it was a boy," responded Mr. Farringford.
"Gentlemen, I shall leave you to draw your own conclusions, after you have heard the rest of the story."
"Can it be possible that you are my lost child, Philip?" said my father.