“‘Sister, you seem to have lost sight of the fact that I am a pauper, though I trust you do not expect me to be a beggar. Miss Bramlett’s great fortune has rendered any thought of a marriage between us impossible; beside this, I do not believe I could ever be to her such a husband as she deserves. I have lately received a letter from my attorney at San Francisco, informing me that he has discovered evidence which leads him to think that my Uncle Stanley made a later will, and that, after all, there is a probability that the property was left to me. He advises me to come there immediately, and it is my intention to do so as soon as I am able to endure the fatigues of the journey. If it should be my fortune to inherit my uncle’s estate, I will then be in a condition to sue for Miss Bramlett’s hand.’
“The carriage now drew up to the front gate, and Mrs. Rockland, who had been watching for us, seized Harry in her arms and burst into tears.
“Harry had been supported from the front gate to the house by Lottie and me, as we thought he was too weak to walk alone; but as soon as he came to the steps at the front portico, he suddenly disengaged himself from us, and briskly ran up into the hall. The exertion proved too heavy a tax on his strength, for I noticed that he began to reel.
“Miss Bramlett, who was watching him from the parlor door, sprang quickly forward and caught him in time to check the force of the fall, but her strength was not sufficient to entirely prevent it. When I got to him I discovered that he had fainted, but Miss Bramlett was sitting on the carpet holding his head on her bosom. By this time Lottie came running in, and snatching a bottle of hartshorn from the mantel, she directed Miss Bramlett to hold it to his nostrils; then she moistened her brother’s pale face with eau de Cologne, and in a few moments I saw signs of returning life appear. I was about to lift Wallingford in my arms, with a view of placing him on a bed, when Lottie suddenly seized me by the arm and pulled me into the nearest room.
“‘Come away, Edward,’ she whispered, as she hurried me along; ‘let them alone—don’t you see how tenderly she is nursing him?’
“We took up a position in the adjacent room, where we could observe them through an open window.
“Wallingford opened his eyes, and as they met those of Miss Bramlett, a convulsive shudder shook his body for a moment, then he closed them, and remained silent a long time. When he again opened his eyes I noticed that they were filled with tears.
“‘He is weeping,’ whispered Lottie, as she gave my arm a vigorous pinch; ‘thank Heaven,’ she continued, ‘all is safe.’
CHAPTER XXXVII.
“SOON after the court opened next morning I was considerably surprised to see Zuleka Zenobia come hurriedly into the room and deliver a large yellow envelope to Mr. Rockland.